The Duchess
by BonneyQ
Summary: AU - This is not a story about a princess. This story is not about how beautiful her naivety was. This story is about a girl divided between the man she loves and the man who raised her. This is the story about the Duchess. Gruvia,NaLu,GaLe
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **So, this is an AU I thought about and it's probably gonna suck majorly, but I couldn't help but write it. Anyways, here we go!

**ATTENTION!**

**Marquess:** A marquess's land, called a march, was on the border of the country, while a count's land, called a county, often wasn't. Because of this, a marquess was trusted to defend and fortify against potentially hostile neighbors and was thus more important and ranked higher than a count. The title is ranked below duke, which was mostly restricted to the royal family and those that were held in high enough esteem to be granted such a title.

**Marquise:** A woman with the rank of a Marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is a marchioness in the British Isles, or a marquise.

Font of information: Wikipedia

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><p><strong>The Duchess<strong>

'Once upon a time'. That's how most of the Fairy Tale's begin, right? That's how you're supposed to tell a good story. That's how you know that everything will be alright in the end.

But not this one.

This is not a story about a princess. This story is not about how wonderful her life was. This story is not about how beautiful her naivety was. This story is not about how the man she loved thought she was a beauty and fell immediately for her.

No, not this one.

This story is about a girl divided between the man she loves and the man who raised her. This story is about how a girl went away from everything she knew. This story is about how fast she had to grow up. This story is about how she felt when she betrayed her family.

This is the story about the Duchess.

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><p><span>Chapter 01<span>

The March of Rain was governed by the Lancasters for hundreds of years. They were the fearsome Lancaster of the South, Where The Rain Never Stops. They were cold and expressionless and damn right powerful with their own small army, which was necessary, since the March was a forgotten land by the sea and was sometimes attacked.

But the name Lancaster was doomed when the last Marquess had four daughters. He and his wife tried to have a boy, but it never came and even worse, all the girls died before married. All except the youngest.

Stormi Lancaster then married Sylvian Loxar, a Baron from a small island rich in blue diamonds, very rare and very expansive, making the March of Rain a prominent place.

Sadly, the marriage didn't last long; Stormi died in childbirth only two years after the ceremony. The baby survived, a little girl and the tradition of the Lancaster family was to name the children in honor to the rain, so she named Juvia; Baron Loxar was devastated with the death of his wife. So devastated that he couldn't even look to his daughter straight, seeing that the girl was almost a copy of her mother.

When Juvia was five, after an attack of pirates to one of the ships containing the blue diamonds, Baron Sylvian Loxar was killed while protecting it. At that early age, Juvia Loxar became the Marquise of the Rain.

And of course, the vultures appear to take advantage of her naivety; she was almost a baby when it all happened and bending her to their own agenda would be incredibly easy.

The one to push all away was Jose Porla, the advisor of the late Marquess and the Baron Loxar. He was already an aged man, who always treated the young Marquise with kindness, even though he was very strict and had many rules to keep her safe of everything that could harm her.

According to Master Jose, as he was called, the world was a very awful place and it should be avoided at every cost. But Juvia was skeptical; she had seen the images in her books and there was no way that people who lived under the beautiful sun was bad.

The sun.

She never actually saw the sky without clouds or a day without rain. She did live at the March of Rain, Where The Rain Never Stops. And she actually dreamt of bathing in sunlight and wondered about how the sensations would make her feel. Not that Master Jose would ever let her go away from the March.

She was the Marquise but actually felt like a prisoner where it was supposed to be her home.

Juvia never felt like she was in her own house; everyone treated her as if she was the second in command, putting all of Master Jose's needs above any order that she could've say.

He was the master, not a silly eighteen-year-old girl, who grew up sheltered of everything. No, people wouldn't take orders from a person like her. She was weak, while he was strong; Porla had more experience, so she just lowered her head and trusted that everything he did was for her people's best interest.

Juvia's routine was quite boring, if you asked her; during the morning she had her breakfast, then class with her private teacher. After lunch she sews, paints and have dance lessons. And after dinner, she was free to read until bed time. Master Jose knew that the Marquise was fond of her books and allowed her to do so.

One day when Jose asked her to see him at his office, she knew that something big was going to happen, but never guessed how big was going to be.

"Master?" Juvia knocked at the door and opened. She was eighteen and still very young, compared to the fifty year-old man. Her hair was blue, like her mother's once were and to honor her memory, Juvia used the same hairstyle: curled by the end. She had average height, even though she was taller than the other young women from the March; Rain people were usually smaller than the rest. Her dress was dark blue and was designed to make her look as plain as possible.

"Come in." Master Jose said from inside the room that once belonged to the Marquess, Juvia's grandfather. The man was too thin and had a moustache. His hair was still dark, even though he was no young boy and his eyes… the Marquise always compared it to an eagle's eyes; they seemed to see everything. He turned away from the big window, which was showing the rain, of course, and smiled. "How are you doing, child? Your teachers only had the best praises towards you."

"Thanks, Master." Juvia made a small courtesy and offered the man s smile. "They are very kind, but Juvia thinks she's just average in everything she does."

Jose sighed. "You still talk in third person, child?" He asked shaking his head slightly in disapproval. "You're a young woman now and shouldn't do it anymore."

"Juv…" The girl started but stopped almost immediately, correcting herself. "I am sorry. I'll try to correct myself from now on."

"That's a good girl." Jose grinned. "Now sit, child." He pointed a chair in front of the table. "We need to talk seriously."

The Marquise frowned and did what she was told. The older man waited her to sit, as it was customary, and did it too. Juvia couldn't help but think of how much better he looked sitting where many of the Marquess of the Rain sat before, than she would and it upset her to realize how of a child she was when it comes to the leadership of the March.

"What is it, Master?" She asked when they were finally settled.

"You're eighteen now, Juvia." Jose was sitting straight, like a nobleman would sit. "And most of the noble girls with that age are already having their second child by then."

The Marquise stomach clinched with his words. "Do you mean that…?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I found a very suitable husband for you. One that would make the March profits, of course."

The young woman's head was spinning with the idea. She had waited so long to hear those words. All she ever wanted was to finally get married and fall in love with her husband and for him to fall for her as well, like happened with her parents, as her aya told her a thousand times. How Baron Sylvian would smile with just the sight of his beloved and how Stormi would sing without apparent reason.

And now it was her turn.

"Really?" Juvia said happily. "Who is he? Do I know him? When can I meet him? Is he handsome and fearless?"

Jose chuckled with her excitement. "The proposal was made through official letters. I never met him, child."

"Never?" The Marquise thought it was strange. Jose knew every nobleman in the March.

"I am afraid that this man I am talking about is not from here." The old man said with caution; he didn't want to scare the girl.

"Not from here?" The blue haired woman frowned. "Is he from one of the Islands?"

The March had most of its lands in the continent, but also had seven islands, not too big but not too small, so the probability was that Master had found a Baron or a Baronet for her to engage.

"No." Jose leaned to the back of his chair. "The young man I am talking about is the Duke of the Ice Lands." All color was drained of Juvia's face.

The Ice Lands.

She had read about it so many times in her books that she could picture the white desert that the place was. She had read about how barbaric the people from that duchy were, how the animals were twice as savages and how cold it was. Enough to freeze a man to the bone during the night, one book said.

The Duchy of the Ice Lands had its borders with the March of the Rain and was the biggest Duchy in all Kingdom of Fiore. In the bottom of the land of the Kingdom was the March of Rain and right above it was the Duchy of the Ice Lands with thousands of kilometers of snow and ice. The March of Rain was big, but it was nothing compared to the four Duchies of Fiore: South was the Duchy of Winter, known as Ice Lands. Going north there was the Duchy of Fall, a little west there was the Duchy of Summer and going east, there was the Duchy of Spring.

The reason why people would rather travel by ship to the March of Rain instead of passing through the Ice Lands was because of how afraid everyone was to go there.

Juvia shuddered with the thought.

"B-but…" She tried to say.

"I know, child. I know that it's not your desire to go to that place, but…" Jose sighed. "You need to know the truth."

"What truth?" Juvia asked with curiosity.

"The blue diamonds. They're disappearing quickly."

She was surprised. "What? But the diamonds are our primary way of gaining money. Without it, would be…"

"The end of the March." Jose sighed deeply. "That situation have been bothering me for quite some time, child."

"You… you should have told me!" Juvia got up from her chair and started to walk from one side to another. "I would've…"

"What, Juvia?" The man rested his elbows in the table. "What would have you done to prevent this to happen? You, that is nothing more than a child."

Juvia knew he was right. It wasn't something she could change if not even Master did, it was impossible for her to come up with something to help the situation.

"How did that happen?" She asked quietly. "The Islands were full of diamonds."

"Pirate attacks." Jose said and they stayed a few minutes in silence while the girl was thinking.

It made sense; the pirates from Across The Sea were dangerous and were always attacking the ships with the diamonds. It was like they knew exactly when to attack.

"But I thought that we hired more sailors to make it safer." The Marquise said in confusion. If there were more men, the ships were supposed to be more secure.

"Those hires were paid with the money we make by selling the diamonds, and more men didn't prevent the pirates of acting." Master rested his chin in his hands. "The situation of the March is severe, child. We _need_ this marriage."

The Marquise chews her lower lip. She knew how much he hated asking for help, and if the Master was telling that she was needed, that meant that the situation was bad.

"This… Duke." She said after some thought. "How can he help us?"

"The Ice Lands have The Mines and they're full of gold, my child. The duchy is one of the richest in Fiore. If you marry the Duke our problems of money will be solved." Jose said calmly. "You would be a Duchess. You could help all the people from the March. Thousands of lives."

The man knew of how helpless the Marquise felt when she couldn't do anything to help the people she was supposed to take care of.

"And I would need to move from the March?" She asked. "Go to the Ice Lands?"

"Yes. You would need to live with your husband, child." The man nodded. "This is the only way."

She became silent for some time, then straightens up her body and, as a noble she was, spoke clearly.

"If that what needs to be done to save the March, it is my duty as the Marquise to do so." She lifted her chin. "When do I leave?"

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><p>When the girl left the room, Jose grinned. She was so easy to manipulate. So easy to see through and control. During all those years he had been waiting, planning and calculating every move he could and now it was time. It was time for him to have the revenge.<p>

He got up and walked to a small table which contained the drinks. He poured some to himself and drank some.

"Now the plan can finally start." He said looking outside the window, to the sea. "After thirty years, the plan can finally start."

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: It's awful. Am I crazy to post this? Is it too confusing? What do I need to explain better? Please tell me your insights. No point of continue writing something that sucks, right? :O Man, it's gonna be difficult to write this. *runs away to the hills* Please, don't kill me!

**English is not my primary language, so forgive any mistakes**. Point them kindly and I'll fix them. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **I am surprised with such good words coming from my reviewers! Thank you all! S2

**The Duchess**

Chapter 02

It have been passed a week since Jose Porla informed the Marquise about the plans of the arranged marriage with the Duke of the Ice Lands and she had been packing all her belongings, and finally the day after she would go away from Storm Rock, her palace, to the Duchy of Winter.

She had never, _ever_ left the palace's boundaries.

Of course that Juvia knew that her March was bigger than the March of Rocks, but not as big as the March of Thunder, but it was a piece of land that was very well located for trades to Beyond the Sea. And even so, she never left to see it.

Eighteen years between walls.

She was a prisoner.

And to tell the truth, she was terrified of going away to a place she knew nothing about. Crazy, right? Juvia dreamt for her whole life to explore the world and when she was finally leaving the house she grew up in, she was scared. What could she expect? She heard that the people from the Ice Lands were rude and ate cold food. With their bare hands. Juvia even heard that when the cold was too severe and they had no food whatsoever, the Ice Land People ate their pets.

And she was going to live there.

The Marquise shuddered with the thought and left her suitcase above the bed and walked towards her window. Looking outside she had the sight of the ocean. Storm Rock was located right above a rock, as its name informed, beside a cliff and Juvia's window gave her the full view of the grayish and fierce ocean, which combined with the grayish clouds that never leave the March of Rain.

Her life could be defined by that color: gray.

Not black, not white. The middle one.

When asked about the name of her future husband, Master Jose had told her that his name was also Gray. Gray Fullbuster.

The Marquise almost immediately thought that it could only be a prank from destiny. Why on earth all her life would be around that stupid color? Everywhere she looked, there was it! In the servants clothes, in the walls of Storm Rock, in the horses from the stable and in the books from the library! Even in the sky! In the sea!

'_Everywhere_.' She thought hopeless.

Was it too much to ask that her life was more… colorful?

She wanted to be able to see the blue sky. The yellow sun; the red roses and green grass; like the ones she read about in her gray books. She wanted to see the colorful birds from the east. The red and orange from the volcanos. The orange of leafs from the Fall Forests. She wanted to see the rainbows from day and night.

But at the very moment she decided to go to the Ice Lands, she was doomed to never know them; she would be just trading the shades of gray for another boring color: white.

Juvia could picture in her mind the desert of white and such cold that could freeze her bones and she hugged her own body as if she could feel the cold.

Nevertheless, looking at the gray ocean she was calmer. Whenever she was depressed, she would sit close to the window and look to the fierce sea and it would always calm her down and take whatever problem that was on her mind away. Maybe it was the sounds of waves, or the way the water moved.

She never understood why, but it made her feel not alone.

The Marquise sighed and went back to her suitcase. Her new life would begin in the next day.

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><p>After three days of deeply discomfort, Juvia finally went to the deck. Since she stepped into the boat she was feeling deeply nauseated; so much that her aya forbidden her to leave the dependencies until she felt comfortable enough. During the night of day one, they faced a storm and for a moment, everyone thought death was certain, but gladly the storm passed.<p>

The trip to the Duchy of Winter or Ice Lands as it was known, would take a week by boat, while by land, almost a month, given the length of land between Storm Rock and the Avalanche Palace, where Juvia was supposed to meet her promised fiancée.

"It's cold!" Juvia said when got up from bed in the morning of day three. Her aya, Marge, offered the Marquise a dress with long sleeves and a coat to put above it. Marge was a middle aged woman and she has been taking care of Juvia since she was a baby.

"You don't need to go outside, girl!" Marge said in disapproval when saw the young woman going to the door after getting dressed and eating her light breakfast.

"Juvia doesn't _need_ to go, but she _wants_ to." The blue haired woman offered the old aya a smile. "Juvia is feeling better and If she stays another minute in here, she'll die of boredom." She opened the door and a cold wind entered the room and the girl hesitated for a moment. It was _really_ cold.

"If you are bored, you can sew with me!" Marge said and it was all incentive Juvia needed to go out of there as fast as her feet could take her.

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><p>If someone had told her that she would actually <em>like<em> to go out and see what her new home would be like, Juvia would think that the person was crazy, but what she was seeing… she actually enjoyed it.

The Marquise looked around and she couldn't believe that the sky was that blue, with a few white clouds. White! The clouds there were really white and looked like cotton, not the heavy clouds from Where The Rain Never Stops.

Juvia stepped between the sailors who were passing and walked until she reached the border of the ship and looked to the sea and it surprised her that it was deep blue, not grayish as the sea back in Storm Rock was. And what surprised her also, were the big pieces of ice that the ship was passing between.

The ice was so white that it made her eyes hurt a bit because there was sunlight (sunlight!) reflecting into it and they were so big, bigger than her castle if she would guess. And Storm Rock was no small thing.

"They call them Icebergs." A known voice came from behind her and Juvia looked to the direction of it with a smile on her face.

"Gajeel-kun!"

The man had long black hair and a few pierces in his eyebrows, nose, chin and ears. The other piercings were hidden by the large black coat he was wearing. The man's eyes were red like blood and his face was a little scary, making most of people were afraid of him.

And the sword he always carry tied on his waist didn't make people find him friendly.

But Juvia was never scared of him.

He was the closest thing Juvia had of a friend.

Even though they were very different, she was a Marquise and he had a doubtful past, they got along almost since the very first time they met. Jose Porla put Gajeel Redfox in charge of Juvia's security since then. Of course, he was going to the Ice Lands with her.

"I see you can be in your feet now." He teased her with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up!" Juvia slapped his arm playfully when he came to stay by her side. "You know Juvia never traveled before."

"It's your own fault." Gajeel shrugged. He was leaning his back on the border of the ship casually and looking up to the sky, while the Marquise was looking to the big pieces of ice in front of her with adoration. "I told you to get the hell out when you wanted to, but you were too much of a chicken to do so."

Juvia giggled with it. He was the only person that could make her laugh like that and also the only one to call her anything other than Lady or Marquise. And usually she would be very embarrassed with cussing, but she learned that it was Gajeel's way to be, so she didn't complain. She liked the company.

"Now Juvia's traveling." She shrugged.

"Yeah. To marry god knows who." He growled. Since the moment the news of her marriage reached his ears he disapproved and wasn't trying to even be subtle about it. "And people say that _I_ am the crazy one."

"Let's not start with it again, Gajeel-kun." Juvia sighed. "The engagement is already a fact."

"Yeah, but…" He turned to be leaning on the border with the front of his body instead of the back. "You never even met the guy. What if he's an old perverted disgusting man?"

"Then Juvia will need to adapt to it. The people from the March need a good life. And if Juvia can provide that, so be it." She shrugged again and the man looked like he was about to strangle the determination out of her body. "And you know what, Gajeel-kun? It sounds like you're worried about Juvia…" She teased him and he rolled his eyes.

"Stupid. It's my job to protect you."

"It's your job. Sure." She smiled to him and looked back to the Icebergs. Everything was so quiet. There wasn't any wind, so they were using the paddles while between the gigantic pieces of ice, making the only sounds between those gigantic pieces of ice.

"People say that when you see an Iceberg," Gajeel started after a few minutes of silence. "The part above the sea is just the decoy. The _real_ Iceberg is underneath the water and it is about ten times bigger than the piece you can actually see." The Marquise looked at him in question, because it sounded like he was talking about something else entirely. "Don't let what you see deceive you, Juvia. Because what you know, is what _they_ want you to know. Always ask yourself if whatever is told to you is just the tip of the Iceberg or it is something ten times bigger than whatever you learned."

"What you mean?" The blue haired woman frowned in question.

"Just keep that in mind." Gajeel stared at the woman for some time and then looked back to the sea. The ship was already leaving between the two Icebergs and they could see the Icy Ocean fully. The Marquise was confused with his words, which was good, because that way she wouldn't forget about it. "Are those whales?"

Juvia exclaimed excited when saw the big animals and they dropped the subject.

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><p>When returning to his own room in the ship after spending hours talking to Juvia about whales and other animals which she could find in the Duchy of Winter, he was tired. The girl would search for any information about the land she could get! They talked about some customs of the land, such as eating the pets (which was a lie) and freezing while sleeping (true if you were stupid enough to sleep without clothes and outside).<p>

Gajeel chuckled to himself. Juvia talked so much nonsense that was actually very entertaining.

He suddenly tensed as Master Jose appeared in front of him, coming from one of the rooms and Gajeel's hand was immediately on the sword he always carried and even though he was a subordinate of the man, he didn't rest in his presence. Not for a second.

"I could've cut you, old man."

Jose's eyes narrowed with that and he stared to the other man for some seconds.

"If you try to tell her about my plans again…"

"I didn't." Gajeel growled. "We were talking about Icebergs."

"Call it whatever you want, _boy_." Jose said the word as if was an insult. "If you let her know about the plan, the deal is off."

Gajeel's eyes widened for a moment and then he felt the anger arise.

"Don't threaten me, old man." Gajeel's grip on the sword was even stronger than before. "I am not a kid.'

"I am not threatening you." Jose offered him a creepy smile. "You know _who_ I _am_ threatening." The Marquise's Chief of Guard narrowed his eyes. "And you have been around long enough to know what I can do."

Master Jose continued to walk and Gajeel punched the wall in frustration. If he hated anyone, was that man.

And if he hated anything, was to be powerless.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Gajeel is here! I just can't let him out of my stories (Yeah, I am a fangirl)! And of course, he's Juvia's protector! And yeah, I know things are waaaaay slower than I would like, but I am trying not to rush things. Too much information in one chapter only can be confusing, but next chapter we're gonna actually arrive at the Ice Lands! :)

**Again, my first language isn't English**; any errors you find, point them out so I can fix it!

Review and give me your thoughts! :D

PS: Who else almost had an hear attack with chapter 268? :) Team B is so freaking strong that I'm pretty sure that the others should be wetting their pants by now. LOL


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **I'm gonna be honest here: I didn't update sooner because I was lazy. Please don't kill me! *runs to the hills*

**The Duchess**

Chapter 03

Excitement and fear washed over Juvia while looking outside the tiny window of the quarters she shared with her old aya; they finally arrived to the Ice Lands.

From where she was standing, the Marquise could only see the docks and she was surprised when noticed that things weren't all white like it was in her thoughts. The port had ships from all over the place, as the flags were signing. She observed four ships from the Duchy of Summer with the flag with the symbol of three yellow Suns side by side; two ships with the official brand of the Duchy of Spring: four tulips with a yellow background.

And of course, she could see lots of ships with the flag of The Duchy of Winter: two white icebergs with a dark blue background.

The Marquise could also see the different people. There were some with white hair, yellow hair, pink hair and she even spotted one with green hair! Back in the March, everyone had dark hair and wore grayish clothes, while Ice Land people wore colorful coats.

"That's the Ice Lands…" Juvia whispered to herself and she felt butterflies in her stomach. That was the land she would live from that moment on.

Would she be well accepted there? Or people would treat her badly?

"Girl." Marge, the aya, said. "Don't let your hopes up too much. You don't know these people."

"Juvia knows, Marge." The Marquise said still looking outside. "Juvia knows."

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><p>"Enter." Juvia's soft voice was heard through the door and Jose Porla opened it. The man smiled widely when he saw the young girl. She was wearing a dark blue dress with long sleeves, which had some fur by the wrists. Her hair was still in her usual curls but this time she was wearing a hat over it.<p>

"You look nice, child." Jose said and entered the room, offering a stare to the aya, who immediately ran away from the room, as she always did when that man appeared to talk to the Marquise; and with reason, since everyone knew how fearsome he could be. After all, he was a powerful man.

"Thank you." Juvia smile widened with the compliment. It wasn't like to people from the March to say nice things to one another. They usually kept their opinion inside. Actually, they usually kept _everything_ inside. "Juvia is so nervous…" Jose looked at her severely for a second and she corrected herself. "_I_ am so nervous about our arrival."

"I know, child." Jose walked towards the young woman and put a hand on her face. "This is the moment everything's gonna change to us."

Juvia nodded understanding what he was saying. Since she was a child, she knew that whenever she married, it would be to benefit the March and its people, and that was the reason she was born in a noble family.

The Marquise believed that everything happens for a reason, and the marriage was a part of a bigger plan from fate, destiny or whatever people call. She had to believe in something, otherwise, what else would be the reason that she lost her parents so early? What else would be the reason that her father ignored her? What else would be the reason that Jose Porla raised her?

Destiny had to have a bigger purpose to her.

"And Juv…" She stopped herself before Master gave her a look. "I will do everything in my power to make the March grow with this wedding."

"You are a good child." Jose smiled, pleased with her and deep inside, Juvia was happy to fulfill his expectations, like she was again five years old. "You remind me of your mother."

She always liked to hear him say that. It reminded her that she had a mother; that she had a family once, even if she had them for a few minutes when she couldn't even remember.

During her life, Juvia always tried to fit in somewhere and never did. Not in her palace, that's for sure. Even when she saw the pictures from her ancestors and saw the resemblance to herself, Juvia would think how much different her life would've been if she had someone left alive with her own blood, to teach her everything about running a land.

"Thank you, Master." The blue haired woman said smiling softly.

"Anyway…" Jose's face darkened. "We have arrived; and child… we'll be going to Avalanche Castle in an hour."

"Yes." The Marquise nodded.

"And I have to warn you again that not every person from this place likes the idea of a foreigner marry the Duke." Jose crossed his arms. "So, I need you to be extra careful until the ceremony."

"Yes, Master." Juvia nodded again.

Master Jose explained to her that some people opposed to the ceremony because it would bring out the March of Rain of its crisis, and somehow put the Duchy in a doubtful situation. Which was unlikely since the Ice Lands had a handful of mountains full of gold.

"You need to make him help the March, Juvia." Jose said looking extremely worried. "You have to gain his trust, so he can see the situation back home."

"I'll try my best, Master."

'_Juvia will help her people. She will help everyone that put their hopes on her_' She thought and really hoped that she would actually do something right once in her life.

* * *

><p>Juvia didn't understand why she needed to wear a hood and why all of her personal guards were surrounding her and when asked about it to Master Jose, who was standing by her side, the old man just smiled sweetly to her.<p>

"It's a foreign land, my child." He patted the hand he was holding lightly. "We never know who may want to harm you."

Juvia frowned when heard Gajeel snort from in front of her and looked to Porla again, only to see a glimpse of rage in his eyes, but lasted a moment; it was so fast that she thought it was all in her mind.

"It's the Ame Onna!" Someone from the big group waiting for her to came out yelled and Juvia was surprised, even if she knew that she wasn't welcomed there.

"Go back to where you're from!" Another voice yelled.

"This is the Ice Lands! We don't want any rain, Ame Onna!"

The insults kept coming, again and again. With each, it was like a knife was piercing through Juvia's heart. If that's what she would expect from the people, she would be better off back in the March.

"Out of the way!" Gajeel yelled and pushed some people away, while was trying to guide Juvia and Jose through the crowd.

Gajeel was trying to be an understanding guy and not kill anyone like Jose asked him to; killing a person from the Duchy of Winter at the arrival day would not be good press, but those idiotic morons were pissing him off. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a tearful Juvia and, even though he would never admit it, he felt bad for her needing to pass through all of that; but said nothing. Instead, he would discount his frustration in the first person that threatened the young Marquise again.

By the corner of his eye, he saw a small hooded figure reach for something inside his hood. Imagining it was some kind of knife; Gajeel didn't even blink before reach the man's neck as fast as he could and throw him on the muddy ground with all his strength, and kept him there.

Except that the person with the hood wasn't holding a knife.

It was a bunch of flowers.

And wasn't a '_he_'; was a '_she_'.

Gajeel frowned when looked to the petite young girl he was holding on the floor; she had brownish eyes and light blue hair and she looked terrified and confused.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia shrieked when she saw the blue haired girl's terrified face. "Let her go!"

He looked strangely to the terrified small figure he was holding on the ground and for a moment considered let her go, but time had taught him to not trust easily. Juvia was too trustworthy and he had to watch her back, otherwise she would end up hurt somehow.

"Who are you?" Gajeel growled to the petit woman and tightened his grip on her neck.

"I… I…" The girl tried to say something, but her breath was hard because of his hand and she was scared out of her life.

"She can't talk! Let her go!" Juvia grabbed his arm and pulled, but he was too strong. Gajeel looked to Jose, who nodded and the younger man make his hand looser.

"Talk. Now." He said dangerously. Gajeel didn't let the girl get up.

Gasping for air, the young woman looked to his red eyes in utter horror, and with a quiet voice she said, sobbing:

"M-my na-name is Le-Levy. Levy McGarden and I… I wa-was sent f-from Avalanche Ca-Castle to wel-welcome the Marquise."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Levy! :O Gajeel tackled her to the floor! Well, I had to make her scared of him somehow, and that's how I ended up doing it.

I was asked by Kiko is a Girl: "By the way, I've been wondering for a while now, **where did you get the idea for this**?"; then I realize how _out of nowhere_ this story truly is for you guys (and me too), so I'll tell you how I came up with this story!

Two days before chapter one was up, Bonney was watching _Pride and Prejudice_ for the hundredth time (and drooling over Mr. Darcy, of course) when I remembered that I also loved the other movie Keira Knightley was in: The Duchess (which was why the story was named like this). I started to think: 'Wow, what if…?'. When the movie was finished, I went to bed but couldn't sleep because all these ideas were coming up in my head. I thought about like… _four or five _major scenes that could be fun to be written and I thought: 'What the heck, I'll give it a shot!', so I got up and wrote chapter one and swore to myself: If I have good feedback, I'll continue this! And here we are in chapter three! :D

One movie and I have a plot, which has nothing to do with the movie I was watching when I had the idea in the first place! Yeah, I'm nuts. LOL

Sorry for the delay! I was lazy and was trying to make sense to this story's next chapters, and I finally did and I was inspired to write. And I wrote 80% a long time ago and I was too lazy to do more. Urgh. Kill me now.

Anyway, next chapter, we'll meet the Duke. :D Who's excited?

Review and make me smile? *-*

Sorry about any mistakes. **English's not my first language**!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Two days between updates. And this one's a little longer than the others. Don't get too used to it! LOL

**The Duchess**

Chapter 04

Inside the carriage with her aya, Master Jose and the small girl, Juvia was feeling a little overwhelmed with all that happened. It was a shock to see people offending her, and she was even more shocked when that young woman, Levy as she said, had been there to welcome the people from the March of the Rain.

"Levy-san… Again, Juvia's sorry…" Jose coughed and Juvia fastly corrected herself. Again. She really needed to stop that. "_I_ am sorry that Gajeel-kun did that, he's really not that scary. You know… once you _know_ him."

The blue haired woman still had huge eyes and was still terrified of what happened, despite the attempts of Juvia to make her calm down.

"It's alright, Marquise." She said with a small voice. "It just took me by surprise."

Juvia bit her lower lip and looked to Master Jose for guidance and he just shrugged her off; but he did talk to the girl.

"How long until we get to Avalanche Castle, girl?" He asked, rather rudely, thought Juvia. The petite woman had a big scare back in Icy Port and was still shaking and had a small hand on her throat, where Gajeel had grabbed her.

"About an hour, sir." Levy said and the carriage fell into silence again.

With hesitation, Juvia let the matter of her head and turned to look outside of her tiny window. Besides the carriage, there were some men in white horses, wearing white clothes as well and most of them had the hood over their heads, and she was sure people, from afar, would take a while to see them.

The ones in brown and black horses belonged to the cortege that came with her in the ship from the March. Gajeel was in a black horse and she could see the smoke that came out every time he took a breath. He noticed her looking to him and made a face.

As the wind blew strongly, Juvia couldn't hear what he mumbled to her, but reading his lips, she could understand that he said: "_It's fucking cold._"

Juvia offered him a small smile, apologizing without any words. And Gajeel just rolled his eyes.

Looking beyond the riders, she could see the forest they were passing between. The Pine trees were huge. The ground (and a few branches of the trees) were very white, giving a contrast with the green. She wondered what was like inside the forest and if she would ever get the chance to see it.

The cold wind blew into her face and instead of scaring her, since the unknown waited for her, it send chills down her spine. And it wasn't a bad chill either. It was a chill that she only felt a few times in her whole life.

She was excited with what her new life would bring.

* * *

><p>Avalanche Castle was no small thing.<p>

The Marquise was stunned when she saw the grayish stones that formed the castle. In her mind, the place she was going to live from now on, it would be a… well, she was not proud to say that she pictured a small iglu made of heavy pieces of ice. Instead, she found a big castle build with rocks, like her own Storm Rock back home.

To enter the limits of the castle, they had to pass through a small village that surrounded the place and people would raise their heads as the carriage passed, because of the different people riding colorful horses, unlike the white ones that were always found in the guard.

And others, because they wanted to catch a glimpse of the Ame Onna.

Juvia didn't like the nickname very much. It was like it was an implication that she was the one that brought rain to her homeland and that she would do the exact same thing to this place. Even though she knew they said those things because they didn't know, that they were afraid; it still hurt a bit to be mistaken for someone so gloomy that would seem like there was rain surrounding them.

"We're almost there." The Marquise heard Levy say with her small voice and Juvia nodded.

She was arriving.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Avalance Castle!" Juvia heard as soon as the big door opened, revealing the well illuminated place. From outside, she would never guess that the light was actually getting inside, she didn't see the big windows that were located behind the castle, where the sun shined during the afternoon; and even more shocking: it was warm. She could easily stay there without a coat, like she was.<p>

In her imagination, the castle would be as cold as outside. And thoughts like that made her feel ignorant.

"Thank you." The Marquise said and looked to the smiling orange haired man who was coming towards them. "Are you…?"

"The Duke? No." The said man smiled kindly to her. "My name is Loke and I am his personal Guard, and Lieutenant of the Avalanche Castle Guard." The man stepped closer to Juvia and took her hand. He bent over and kissed it slightly, without looking away from her eyes. "And you, my beautiful, are…?"

"Ju-Juvia Loxar." The girl was startled with the man's… advances.

Surprise crossed his handsome features as he stood once again, letting her hand go.

"The Marquise?" He asked. "I thought that…" He looked behind Juvia, where Master Jose, the aya Marge and a hooded Levy were.

"What?" Juvia asked, confused herself.

"My apologies, ma'am." He formally put a hand over his stomach and leaned with respect. "I didn't know that you were the Marquise. I thought that she was." He pointed to Levy, who was wearing a fine dark blue cape, which belonged to Juvia. The Marquise felt bad for the young girl and lent her the cape so people couldn't see the bruise on her neck.

While they were exchanging those words, Levy started to leave without them notice.

"It is alright." Juvia smiled softly. "It is nice to meet you, Loke-san."

"Likewise." He offered her a smile.

"Where's the Duke, boy?" Master Jose asked.

Loke turned to the older man, still smiling, but Juvia noticed that behind the glasses he was wearing, he lost the humor. "He's at the office dealing with some arrangements for the wedding. But I will tell him you arrived. And you are…?"

"Jose Porla." He responded narrowing his eyes.

"I'll tell him you're here, Porle." Loke nodded and Juvia knew that he mistaken his name on purpose.

"Porla. Lah!" Jose said a little bit too angrily.

"Yes. Por-lah." The orange haired man tried to suppress a smirk when heard a small giggle from Juvia. "Now, the maids will show your rooms. Marquise." He bowed to her and smiled to the aya, barely acknowledging Jose while they followed a young woman.

Inside her chest, something happened.

Loke didn't know (or maybe he did), but no one ever treated her with more respect than treated Jose.

For the first time in her life, she felt like the Marquise she was.

* * *

><p>Gray Fullbuster, the Duke of the Ice Lands looked like he was a cold man to whoever didn't know him. People often mistook his attitude with coldness, while he was blunt and clueless about what people might think of him. It wasn't like he did it on purpose. And his imminent marriage made him even ruder without realize.<p>

What the hell his grandfather was thinking when he set this ridiculous thing up?

'_The 31st Duke of the Duchy of Winter is bound to be married to the granddaughter of the 29th Marquess of the March of Rain, when she reaches the age of eighteen_.'? He remembered the exact words the official document had, and groaned. The old fart was probably laughing his ass off in the afterlife while Gray was caught between an arranged marriage and running the Duchy that he never intended to inherit in the first place. If there was only someone else of his family that wanted to be a freaking Duke!

"You look excited." The Duke looked away from the window and stared to his long term friend and personal guard.

"Shut up, Loke." Gray mumbled and the other man laughed.

The contrast between them was so intense, and even so people could see that there was a bond between the two. From one side, Loke was bright with his orange hair and easy personality (more like a babe magnet) while Gray had his dark hair and cold attitude towards people.

"I just saw your bride arriving." Loke was wearing the standard dark clothes of the castle's guard and his glasses were covering his brown eyes. He had a sword on his waist and his hand was resting on it without even realize he was doing it. "Why didn't you go to welcome her?"

"It's a fucking rule to not see the bride until we're officially engaged. Probably so the groom can't runaway, since there are some precedents." Gray groaned. "There's a ceremony tomorrow to make us engaged and with no way out."

"So, until tomorrow, there's a way to get out of it?" Loke asked interested.

"No." Gray sighed. "My grandfather was specific and since I _am_ the 31st duke and she _is_ the granddaughter of the 29th Marquess, it's done. I can't get out of it." Loke looked to Gray with a knowing look and Gray sighed, understanding full well where he was getting at. "Don't even mention that. It is done. She's here already."

Loke stared to his friend for a few seconds, before saying:

"And why they had this arrangement anyways?" The orange haired man frowned. "I thought that it was messy to marry people that are heir to a big amount of land."

"It is." The Duke sighed again. "But apparently, the two old men were friends or something. And since their children were already married when they came up with this stupidity, they realized that my grandfather had a grandson, while the Marquess had a granddaughter. So, they made it official." Gray rolled his eyes. "Stupid old men."

"That sucks." Loke nodded. "Especially with a bride like that."

_That_ got the young Duke's attention. He frowned and asked: "Like _what_?"

"You know…" Loke made a face. "She has this awful mole that occupies most of her face."

"W-What?" Gray's eyes became huge with the words.

"And you know… The way she have this moustache…" The soldier put a hand on his mouth, as if to prevent himself to puke. "And let me tell you, pal. Don't be deceived: just because she's from Where The Rain Never Stops, it doesn't mean she takes a bath every day. The smell…" Loke shuddered. "Good luck having a little Duke or Duchess with her."

Gray narrowed his eyes and after some seconds, said: "Liar."

The orange haired man smirked. "The moustache was too much?"

"Yes." Gray couldn't help but smirk as well. "You should've stopped at the mole part."

"My bad. I was having too much fun with your horrified face." Loke smile was big now and they stayed in silence for some time, before he breaks it. "But seriously, man. I saw the Ame Onna."

"Tell me the truth now." Gray sighed, tired. This whole arrangement was making him have a huge headache. "With my luck, I am not expecting her to be beautiful, or anything. She's at least pleasant to _talk_ to?"

"I'll not enter in many details, but I'll tell you that you can do a lot worse than that girl." Loke smirked and Gray looked strangely at him. "Oh, and an old man who came with her wants to talk to you. Porle, or something."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Loke! I didn't 'use' him too much back in The Baby Problem, but in this one, he'll be a big part of! He's Gray's personal Guard and Lieutenant of the castle's guard; and of course, a big friend of Gray's. And don't worry. We'll get to **Natsu** and **Lucy**! I didn't forget about them!

For the people that is wondering about **Lyon**… Believe me, I am crazy about the love triangle they're in, so he'll appear and have a huge part in the story. For _sure_. Muahahaha. *Evil laugh* I already wrote a part of it. It is pretty awesome if you ask me. Yeah, I'm not modest at all. ;D

And about the **honorifics**… I know that it should be: Lady Juvia, Lord Gray, Miss Levy, Sir Loke or something like that. But I think that the Japanese honorific are better and fits well with this story. Besides, we're all used to Juvia calling Gray 'Gray-sama'. And it's cute when she does it.

Oh, and some people actually wondered about the other Dukes and Duchess, since there are Four Duchy (Duchies? I really need to learn the plural of that word) and we only know about Gray's. There's still three more to go: Spring, Fall and Summer. Any guesses? :)

**English's not my first language. Sorry if you found any mistakes.**

Did you like Loke's appearance? And his interaction with Gray? How about Gray's personality? How about Loke being mean to Jose?

Review and make me smile? :D


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I hope you enjoy the chapter! It was made with love! s2

**The Duchess**

Chapter 05

"Come in." Gray sighed and got up from his chair. It had been five minutes since Loke left his office, so he knew that it was the Porle guy outside. And he was right.

The man was tall, Gray gave him that. His face was long, making his chin really long seem even longer with the thin mustache. His black hair was rather long, almost hitting his shoulders. His eyes were a bit too small and weirdly shaped, but what brought Gray's attention, was the way that the man thought he owned everything around him.

And that bugged Gray somehow.

"Duke Fullbuster." The older man bowed a little and Gray nodded, acknowledging his presence. And usually, he would ask to not be call Duke, just Gray, but his gut screamed to let it be perfectly clear who was the higher ranked there. And his gut never let him down.

"You must be Jose Porle." He said, using the 'Duke-Tone' as Gray called; it was the way his voice would be automatically cold and distant, to put people in their places. It was quite rare for him to use it, but Gray found himself uneasy in the other man's presence.

"It's Porla. Lah." The older man's eye twitched a little and Gray continued to look stoic as ever, but wondered why Loke had wronged the name. It had to be intentional; Loke had a very good memory and to tell Gray the wrong name; he must have had his reasons.

"I was informed that you wanted to talk to me, Porla." Gray said, not that patient.

"Yes." Master Jose looked to the chair in front of the Duke's desk and Gray nodded, sitting in his own chair. After the Duke sat, the older man did the same. "I want to talk to you about the March of Rain."

"Talk."

"Our land is having a bit of a money problem right now." Jose said and Gray frowned a bit. That place and its Islands were rich in blue diamonds, why were they having problems? "Our ships are getting robbed more and more often. And I humbly request the help from the Ice Lands."

"You're asking for help?" Gray raised his eyebrows. "A better strategy would be to make my future wife ask it when I am pleased with her. So, why are _you_ the one asking?"

"Because the Marquise is a little… light headed." Jose sighed with sorrow. "She's a good girl, but she was not cut to be a Marquise. That's why I was the one running the March up until now." Gray narrowed his eyes. Even though he hadn't met his fiancée, he felt insulted by this.

"Then why didn't you try to teach her how to run her own lands?" The Duke asked, still cold.

"She didn't want to know, sir." Jose looked to Gray right into his eyes and then down. "She wanted to learn how to sew, and how to be a proper lady. How could've I said no?"

"I see." Gray nodded. "So you're the one who took over and managed the March. But then the ships began to get robbed?"

"Yes." Porla nodded.

"I'll see what I can do." Gray said and Jose got up from the chair.

"Thank you, sir." He bowed once again, but through his eyes, the Duke saw that he preferred to be taking his own kidney with his bare hands than bowing.

When Porla was finally gone, Gray let out a breath.

"That is one creepy man."

* * *

><p>Juvia sat looked down, seeing that her aya was asleep. She was designed to be in a very fancy room and Marge was sleeping with her, of course. The woman was her shadow since the moment that her marriage was announced and the Marquise was sure that Master Jose was the one who put her into it, afraid that Juvia may run away.<p>

It didn't matter how many times she had said that she wasn't going to run away, they never believed in her.

Carefully, Juvia pulled the sheets away and got up, jumping a little because of the coldness of the floor.

"Shoot!" She mumbled while putting her furred boots. Still as quietly as she could, she took her coat and went to the door, opening it slowly, once she could see outside, she saw that Gajeel, who was guarding her bedroom, was asleep.

Taking this rare opportunity, Juvia got out of the room. She just wanted to be by herself for a few minutes.

As she supposed it was going to be, Juvia had to hide herself a few times because of some guards, but she was used to it. Back in Storm Rock, she would run away in the middle of the night to go to one of the towers to read about the things she wanted to know someday.

The castle was dark at that moment and cold too. Covering herself better, Juvia groaned when she realized that she should've brought a candle with her. Feeling a little adventurous, the Marquise looked around before opening the door to a big balcony. Feeling the cold breeze on her face was very refreshing.

She went closer to the wall and looked to the place she would be the lady of.

Avalanche Castle was located above a mount for strategic measures, as Jose explained to her; from where she was standing, Juvia could see four villages because of the lights and she was sure that if she went higher, to one of the towers, for example, she could see even more lights. But for now, she was fine, looking to just those four.

The people who lived there would soon become her people as well.

"What are you doing out here?" A male voice said and Juvia looked behind her, startled.

Her heart skipped a bit once she saw the man. He had dark hair and was wearing dark clothes, just like the one Loke was wearing when she met him. But that man somehow captivated her, even though she just stood there glued to the floor.

"Juv…" She tried to talk and he stepped closer, frowning.

"I don't recognize you." Even though she was terrified, Juvia realized that she wasn't afraid of _him_, but of what could happen if Master Jose found out that she had been walking around the castle without permission. "Do you work here?" Her heart was racing and she liked the new feeling that man was giving her.

Juvia shook her head.

"Then how did you…?" Realization passed through the eyes, which the Marquise realized were black like coal, and he spoke again. "Did you come from Where The Rain Never Stop?"

"Yes." She finally found her voice, but it was very low. "Please, don't tell Master Jose that you saw me." She looked terrified and he was a bit surprised, but nodded.

"I won't." He looked to the horizon. "It's perfectly normal to explore an unknown place. And I can tell that you weren't robbing anything. So it's fine."

"Thank you." She turned to see the horizon again, now a little bit nervous with his presence but not wanting to go away either. "Th-this is a very beautiful place." She said after a minute of silence.

He looked down to her and then back to the view. "Yes, it is. Sometimes I forget about it."

"Ha-have you… always lived here?" She asked, wondered. Juvia leaned over the wall, looking to the man.

"Yes." He nodded and pointed to one of the four villages they could see from where they were. "I was born there."

Juvia followed his finger and saw that he was pointing to the village that was placed right beside a mountain.

"Really?" She asked and he nodded. "How was it?"

"Normal." The man turned and stared at her. "You know? I grew up between snowball fights, Ice Skating and Snow Angels. How about you?"

"I-I grew up in the Storm Rock." She shrugged, getting more used to the man next to her. "Lots of books and classes about manners. It was a little bit boring, actually." He chuckled and her heart stopped for a moment and she could feel every nerve in her body, like that small gesture couls sent electricity through her. Juvia didn't know what was happening to her; why her breath got caught in her throat? And why her heart was pounding so fast into her chest that she wondered if the man could hear it? That never happened with her before!

What was happening to her?

What was that feeling?

"Learning manners, huh?" The man smirked and inside her head, Juvia let out a squeal of how handsome he was doing that. "I bet that you missed one class." Juvia frowned when he looked to her again. "You know… the one that says that a girl should be in her bedroom during the night."

Her whole face went red in an instant. She wasn't completely clueless about life.

Okay, she was. But she knew that he was implying something that she needed to object to.

"O-oh…" She said quickly. "N-no! Juv.." The Marquise caught herself before saying her name. She was trying to not do that anymore and she kind of liked to be treated normally by someone other than Gajeel in her life. "_I _would never… Ju… _I_ am…"

The dark haired man laughed. "I was just messing with you." He turned around to go away, raising a hand to wave good-bye. "Don't forget to close the door when you're done. The castle is already cold enough to other people."

As she watched the mysterious man disappear, Juvia's breathing became normal again, but every time she thought about him, her heart would make a cartwheel inside her chest. But surprisingly, it didn't hurt. It only made her feel funny.

"Maybe Juvia's hungry." She murmured to herself and started to walk away, making sure to close the door behind her. She was going to get engaged, it wasn't in her place to wonder who the mysterious man were. Or how did he get that scar above his eye. Or how his eyes glowed like black diamonds under the moon's light.

No.

She wasn't going to think about it. _At all_.

* * *

><p>Gray was already opening his bedroom door when he realized two things: one: he hadn't even asked that girl her name and two: the castle was full with guards and that girl wasn't seen by any of them.<p>

And what was he thinking when he talked about where he was born? Maybe Gray was going crazy like his granfather was when he set the marriage up. He rolled his eyes knowing his own stupidity. He was the freaking Duke! He needed to know what was happening inside his own castle, not tell people he didn't even know about his childhood memories!

He sighed. He needed to warn the guards that there was a girl who could walk around the castle exploring without them knowing. As if he hadn't enough problems already; he was going to get engaged in less than twelve hours.

The Duke of Ice Lands had no time to worry himself about nothing other than the merge between the lands.

And his future wife, of course.

The dark haired man groaned with the thought. According to Jose Porla, Gray could expect a bubbly head for a wife, and it didn't actually bother him if she was one. It would be easier for him if she was one, actually. Even if she was not good looking, she would stay out of his things, and he could let her do whatever she wanted with the castle and raising the kids they would eventually have.

But the smirk in Loke's face… Gray knew his friend, and the orange haired man sure knew how to read people. Especially women. So, he had three options there: a) she was actually pretty and Loke's head was full of dirty thoughts; b) she was very submissive and Loke's head was full of dirty thoughts about how to tell Gray how make the best of it; or c) she only_ pretended_ to be submissive to other people and Loke's head was full of dirty thoughts about how Gray could tame her once he realized that.

"I'll meet her tomorrow. No need to lose sleep over it. It's business." He jumped into his bed after removing the clothes he was _obliged_ to use (the maids didn't seem to complain to an occasional shirtless Gray, but the council wanted him to be exemplar, so he was trying to watch himself). And right after he fell asleep, he thought about talking to whoever was in charge with the March of Rain cortage that he was going to give them more suitable coats.

The one that the girl he met had was too thin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> And we arrive chapter five with **78 **reviews**, 48 **alerts,** 42 **faves and **2,682**hits? 2600+ hits? All of it couldn't be only me! :O You guys are just _soooooo_** cool**! Thank to you ALL! The readers and the especially the** reviewers**! You all make me smile! *-*

So, what your thoughts about Juvia and Gray meeting for the first time? :D Next chapter we're gonna meet Natsu! 8)

And by the way,_ Stebbi_, you were right in your guess! Well, a little bit. Gray's _way_ too dense! LOL

And… wow. I was looking the Gray x Juvia page here and it seems that there are a few AU stories now! :O I hope mine doesn't suck compared to them, really! I'm not gonna lose! *getting fired up* LOL **I know that lots of people don't like AU stories**, that's why I am so happy with all your support! Thank you again! :D

So, any thoughts? *-*


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **Okay, I **just** realized that it has been almost TWO MONTHS since I updated this. Bad Bonney. *going to the dog house*

**The Duchess**

Chapter 06

Gray was feeling suffocated with the formal clothes he was wearing. Dammit, he was a man who was raised in the cold, what the hell his counselors were thinking when they said that he needed to wear three layers of clothing? Seriously, he could go out without a shirt on and be fine with it.

But no, he was getting married.

Okay, people called engagement, but he didn't buy it; they were going to sign a paper and they were going to live together as husband and wife, so it was a marriage.

A _full_ marriage.

The Duke groaned and took of his outside coat so he could breathe easier. He was going to get married to a woman he never saw in his life and he was going to go until the end with it! Gray snorted. Maybe he was a little bit crazy after all. Maybe he shouldn't be the Duke because he was insane. Good plan!

Yeah, he scoffed, as if there was someone else to take the Duchy from him.

No, not anymore. The lands were his and his only. And with the lands, the people who lived there were also his responsibility and he had a duty to the King and to his family to be the best caretaker as possible to the precious things his grandfather left for him.

He snorted again. The old man sure wasn't too fond of him and they met only a few times before the previous Duke died and they weren't very friendly towards each other as well, but people do say that blood is thicker than water, so wanting or not, Gray, after quite a mess, was nominated the next Duke, much to his despair, since he grew up away from Avalanche Castle.

Everything was freaking scary when he first came to that place, and yet, at that point of his life he couldn't see himself doing nothing other than be the Duke. Gray Fullbuster was a man of word, and he swore to be the Duke until the day he died and if he needed to marry a complete stranger to continue to be one, so be it.

Sighing, Gray turned around in direction of the door when he heard a knock.

"Come in." He straightened himself and put his icy façade.

The first thing he saw was the pink hair and he relaxed when he took a look at the person who just entered the room.

"Hey, Iced Brain." The man greeted, entering the room without any shyness. "Loke said it is time for you to take your ass to the chapel. The priest and the judge are waiting."

"Crap." Gray didn't even remember to fight the pink haired man as he would do instinctively. He was getting married! The man that promised himself that would never do that. But then, he became a Duke and everything changed. "Crap, Natsu. I'm getting _married_ to someone I never met before."

"That sucks." The other man nodded while reaching for the table where Gray's breakfast was intact and putting a pancake inside his mouth. "If you don't want to, don't marry her." Natsu said with his mouth full.

"I can't. My grandfather made it official. The family's honor is at stake." Gray said grabbing his coat.

"_That_ complicates things." The pink haired man shrugged. If anyone knew about honor, was Natsu Dragoneel. His foster father, Igneel was a knight for the King and he taught everything about the court to his son: he taught about fighting, about proper manners (that Natsu barely used) and mostly important he taught the boy about always fulfill his promises and about his honor; until the day he vanished without a good explanation. Igneel just left, and since then Natsu had been trying to locate him, because family never give up on each other.

"Yeah." Gray put his coat on. "Besides, it's even worse for this Juvia woman I am marrying." Gray sighed. "At least I am in my house. She had to leave everything she knew behind her."

"Maybe she thinks of it as an adventure. Lucy did." Natsu shrugged and Gray stared at him with despise.

"I don't think the Rain Woman thinks as an adventure."

"Well, you need to decide what you're doing because the ceremony is going to happen in about half an hour." The pink haired man said, now drinking the wine that was meant for the Duke.

Gray sighed and took his coat again, putting it back on.

"I'll do what my grandfather promised. If this marriage breaks, it'll not come from my side. Let's go."

* * *

><p>After staring at herself for about an hour, Juvia couldn't stop walking from one side to another in her room. She was going to get married. <em>Married<em>.

"You are making me sick. Stop it." The man who was leaning on the wall said, rolling his red eyes.

"Juvia is nervous, Gajeel-kun." The Marquise said, turning around to her friend. "What if he's… mean to Juvia?" She asked, concerned. "What if he is a bad guy?"

"You should've run tonight when you had the chance." Gajeel raised an eyebrow when the Marquise frowned in confusion. "What? Did you really think that I didn't see you go away tonight? I hoped that you finally grew the balls to run away from this marriage, but you came back. Stupid." The man shook his head slightly in disapproval.

"Juvia should've realized that you were awake." She sighed. "I mean, you can predict her moves like no one, Gajeel-kun."

"It's because you can be predictable sometimes. And other times, I don't even know you." Gajeel shrugged. "You can be a puzzle."

"Cannot!" She exclaimed.

"Can too."

"Cannot!"

"Can too!"

Juvia laughed and her friend smirked; he had taken a little bit of her anxiety, making her laugh. Of course she understood why people were afraid of him; long dark hair, red eyes and piercings in his face weren't exactly the friendliest looks, but she knew better; how his heart was full of kindness for the people he let in.

She was lucky to be one of those people.

"Gajeel-kun… did you apologize to that girl? The one you scared at the port?" Juvia asked softly. She knew that the guilt was eating him up. It was his job to protect her, but to tackle a person who wasn't a threat was not part of it. And the Marquise knew him enough to know that he only attacked with a reason.

"Didn't see her." He shrugged again. "And even if I do…"

"You will apologize." Juvia said firmly.

"I am not going to apologize for doing my job!" The man said stubbornly.

"Then don't. But apologize for scaring her." Juvia stepped closer to her best friend. "We are going to stay here for a long time, Gajeel-kun." She took his hand with hers. "It can be our chance to be… different." She smiled softly. "Maybe this marriage can be what we both need to reinvent ourselves."

"Don't think so." Gajeel scoffed but didn't move his hand from hers. Juvia was the only person in his life, aside from his father Metalicana, to touch him with kindness and she couldn't do often enough, but when she did, his heart would always get overwhelmed with happiness. "You will have a castle to run and will pop up about fifteen kids and I'll be with the guards, patrolling during the coldest nights."

"You will not." It was her time to roll the eyes in a very un-lady like manner. "This is the biggest Duchy of Fiore. Juvia is certain that there must be someone here for you!"

"I don't need someone." He almost moaned in pain. He could already see Juvia trying to set him up with someone as soon as she got bored with her new life. "I just need myself."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." She sang song and then hugged him. "Even if you don't need Juvia, you'll always have her." She kissed his cheek for his annoyance and let him go, returning to her place before the mirror. "Gajeel-kun will always be Juvia's best friend even if he doesn't want to."

She checked her appearance again, not that her light blue dress was any different from before she stepped out of her spot in front of the mirror, she was looking at her every angle. The dress had some white sparkles, making Juvia glow a little. Her hair was in the usual curls by the end of it, and she was using some pinkish lipstick.

While she was looking at herself, Gajeel stared at her. He knew a great part of Porla's plans and it wasn't good and Juvia was still naïve enough to think that the older man was after the best interests of her March, but he didn't. And Gajeel needed to be the one to protect her from Master Jose.

He didn't know this future husband of hers or how many men he had under his orders, but if this Duke even dared to make Juvia unhappy, he would pay the consequences. People didn't mess with the only person he ever cared and got away with it. Gajeel would raise hell to prevent her from getting hurt. And it would be even worse if she actually got hurt.

If such a thing ever happened, none would be safe from his wrath.

A knock came from the door and Juvia said "Come in", turning around to face the orange haired man she met when arrived.

"It's time, Marquise." Loke smiled and opened the door further, showing her the way.

It was in motion.

* * *

><p>The private office of the Duke of Winter was a very big place, as it was all the rooms in Avalanche Castle. It had windows which went from the ceiling to the ground, letting the light come in, in contrast with the darkness of the wall, which were covered with some old rugs which had some pretty awful drawings of dragons, lamias and fairies.<p>

Gray hated those rugs, but at the moment, he was pretty much focused on them, while the people around him were talking while waiting his bride to come and realize the marriage ceremony. For royalty, there were two weddings: the first one was the real one, both groom and bride would sign the papers and would start to live together. The second part of it, was the Outside Wedding, as people called.

The Outside Wedding was a big festival where the commoners could see the ceremony, making the bond between man and woman unbreakable. And besides, the normal people loved to see the royals from all over the Kingdom.

"Gray?" A woman's voice woke the Duke from his daydreaming. He was actually looking to the walls and imagining what would be the chances of a fairy to beat a lamia. Yeah, he was that focused on getting married.

"Yes, Erza?" He responded, shaking his head and focusing his eyes on the red haired woman, now in front of him. She had red straight hair with bangs that fell into her left eye. She was wearing a dark armor, since she was the Weapons Master from Avalanche Castle. And she was also one of Gray's oldest friends.

"It's time." She said kindly, which was rare. Erza Scarlet was one fierce woman most of the times.

He groaned but went to stand close to his desk, where an old man, the judge, was holding a quill, waiting for the formalities to be done. In the room, were also Jose Porle and a few of his men, the priest, Natsu Dragoneel and his wife, Lucy by his side, an old woman and Erza.

The door opened and Loke appeared first, then a big dark haired man who stayed by the door, looking very pissed. Gray really needed to know who that was.

"I present you: Juvia Loxar, The Marquise of Rain."

When the woman stepped in the room, Gray frowned and whispered to himself: "What the…?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Cliffhanger! :O Bonney is being too mean these days. LOL I need some lovin' so I can be nicer, really!

You already know that I am a sucker for Gajeel x Juvia friendship, so… I had to make a pretty scene between them! *_* And anyway, I need to establish the depth of their relationship, because it will be an important part of the story. ;D

Juvia's dress… Have you ever seen "The Golden Compass" movie? I just LOVED the dress Nicole Kidman used with all those sparkles, so, I changed to light blue to match Juvia. I don't know why, I just picture that dress. :O Movies and Bonney. Go figure the relation between them. *crazy*

Gray imagining fairies fighting lamias. Subtle much, Bonney?

**SPOILER-ish!** Okay, can Gruvia be called _cannon_ with **that**? Because, I think it can now. And yes, I _cried_. Seriously serious now. I… cried with happiness. It's _happening_, guys. It. Is. Happening! *crying again* I'm such a crybaby but I'm just too happy and I can't seem to stop crying! I'm just so happy… So, _so_ happy for Juvia. I know she's a fictional character but… Does it make sense to wish that character the best in the world because she's so sweet? I may be being pathetic, but I'll continue to cry with happiness because love is _winning_!

But guys… I am sensing **something bad**. **Mashima is a TROLL**. Did any of you read Rave Master? Because what he did with **Reina and Musica**… I still can't believe. And Juvia would _TOTALLY_ do what Reina did for Musica and it scares the crap out of me. I hope I am wrong, but… my gut is _screaming_. Don't get me wrong, I am freaking happy with the developments, but… with caution.

Review and make my day happier? :D


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **Please, don't throw tomatoes at me!I know you hate me right now for the late update. ;;' But I… hope you enjoy this? /angelface

**The Duchess**

Chapter 07

Once he looked the way his bride was coming, Gray's eyes opened wide as he looked at her. He knew that blue hair with those crazy curls, the deep blue eyes, and the whiteness of her skin... He froze in his spot when he fully realized exactly where he remembered seeing the woman walking towards him from. It was the girl! The girl he talked to the night before! The girl he wasn't supposed to meet until that moment.

Oh. _Shit_.

If he says something, then the marriage could fall into pieces and he couldn't do that. He had the honor of the Ice Lands to protect. And it wasn't like they knew who they were talking to. It was a coincidence, right? _Right_? Did she want to meet him before the wedding and set that meeting up somehow?

No. When his eyes met hers, Gray could see the surprise written in them. She knew that he was the Duke as much as he knew that she was the Marquise. It was a coincidence. He sighed in relief. At least his future wife didn't have some kind of agenda.

The blue haired woman had a frown in her face as well. Jose Porla stepped beside her and was leading her towards where Gray, the priest and the judge were waiting.

Once they stepped closer, Jose offered the hand of the blue haired woman to the Duke, who took it and leaned to kiss it.

"Duke Fullbuster, this is Juvia Loxar, Marquise of Rain." Jose said.

The Marquise was about to say something, but Gray couldn't let her ruin the marriage by saying that they met before. It was a tradition they couldn't break, so, he did what any other person would've done it: he lied.

"It's nice to meet you for the _first_ time, Marquise." He hoped that she was smart enough to understand what he was saying. She also knew that they shouldn't have met, even if it was by accident; that could ruin not only the marriage, but also the relationship between the two lands and neither could afford that; the Ice Lands needed the blue diamonds as much as the March of Rain needed to sell them.

The Duke kissed her hand, like any other lord would do, staring at her eyes pointedly. Luckily, she got his intentions.

"Y-yes, Duke Fullbuster-sama." Juvia said, nervous and bowed to him. "L-likewise."

She was so surprised to learn that the man she met on the balcony was the man she was going to marry!

Was that... _Fate_?

Maybe that's why they met the night before? Maybe it was the universe's way to tell her that she _had_ to marry him. Maybe...

Master Jose interrupted her thoughts when he spoke with a silky voice.

"Shall we sign the papers?" He said, making both thw Duke and the Marquise look away feom each other.

"Yes, we shall." Gray nodded and offered his arm to the blue haired woman. She took it, shaking a bit as he noticed. Well, it was a bit crazy, but he felt better knowing that she was as nervous as him. At least he wasn't alone in this. He looked to the Judge, an old man. "We will sign the papers now. No need to say anything fancy, save it for the Outside Wedding." The older man nodded and reached for the papers.

Once he found them, he put it on the table in front of the couple and Jose Porla, who didn't move away.

The Judge offered a quill to Gray. The Duke let go off Juvia's arm and bended a little so he could sign his name. He didn't hesitate.

Gray Fullbuster gave his word that he was going to marry that woman, and help the gods, because he was doing it.

* * *

><p>Juvia took the quill her husband-to-be offered her, trembling; after she signs her name in those papers, she would be married. She, a married woman! Even without the second part of the ceremony (which was just a big flashy wedding for the people; the real wedding was happening at that moment) she was going to be married to a man he just met.<p>

Well, okay, it wasn't _entirely_ true. The night before she did talk to him and Juvia was convinced that he wasn't a bad person by the way they talked. At least that was a good thing, right?

And the fact that he wasn't bad to look at didn't hurt at all. Duke Fullbuster was indeed a very attractive man. He was tall, not as tall as Gajeel-kun though. His black hair was combed, but it was too rebel to stay in the way it was put. And somehow she could tell that the fancy clothing he was wearing wasn't of his liking at all. The dark coat with some blue patterns didn't fit the guy Juvia talked the night before.

So, she took the quill and bended over the table so she could write her name.

Juvia tried as hard as she could to stop trembling so people could actually read her name.

Once she finished and raised her head, she saw that the man she assumed was the priest because of his ridiculous clothes, a dark brown gown with a big and long white hat, just like the ones the priests back in her March wore, came closer to her and the Duke.

He took one of Juvia's hands and placed above Gray's, and then he took another to place above the Duke's and they did the same with Gray's.

She wrinkled her nose to the old costume. Theis hands, one above the other was to mean that they had to have each other in anytime and in any situation, in any way. The sentiment was nice, but the way of doing it was silly; people could just say it. The priest then, surrounded their hands in a white cloth with many religious symbols. He then, spoke in a clear voice.

"Gray Fullbuster, 31st Duke of Winter; do you accept this woman to be your wife in holy matrimony, to be your companion in life and your helper during your ruling over this Duchy and the March of Rain until death do you apart?"

The Duke didn't hesitate in answer that also. Juvia was impressed of how serious and decisive about the wedding he was.

"I do."

The priest nodded and looked to the blue haired woman.

"Juvia Loxar, 29th Marquise of Rain; do you accept this man to be your husband in holy matrimony, to be your companion in life and your helper during your ruling over this Duchy and the March of Rain until death do you apart?"

The Marquise took a deep breath and with a boost of courage she said strongly (surprising even herself).

"I do."

"Before the gods," The Priest said. "You vowed to be together and your bond will never be broken or fade away. You will be forever united in marriage. You are now husband and wife." The old man put another cloth over the white one, but it was red this time. "You may kiss the bride."

Juvia's heart began to beat faster as Gray leaned towards her.

That was it!

She was going to be kissed by him. It was the rules, right? All she could hear was her heartbeat and all she could see was his face getting closer and closer to her own.

Oh, she wasn't supposed to have her eyes open, was she? Juvia closed her eyes and put her lips together, expecting his own on hers...

...When she felt his cold lips on her forehead.

She opened her eyes, more disappointed that she should have been. Since she was a little girl and she was taught the ritual of marriage, Juvia dreamt about having a romantic kiss at that day, given by the man she was in love with.

But not a thing about this wedding screamed 'romance'; so a kiss on the forehead was good enough. She sighed.

"The goddess of fertility will not be happy with this, Duke." The old priedt gave him a dirty look. "She's the one who decides about how many children you will have, sir."

Gray smirked and shrugged."You said _'Kiss the bride_' and I did; you never said where I was supposed to kiss her." Juvia couldn't help but thinking it was funny the way he talked to the old man. Back in her homeland, people feared the priests and there the Duke was, bending the rules and pissing the man off.

"Fine. It still counts." The priest sighed and didn't even try to talk to the Duke. He probably knew the Duke was a lost cause. "I introduce you to Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Loxar, Duke and Duchess of Winter, Marquess and Marquise of Rain; united by holy matrimony."

Gray grabbed Juvia's hand, startling her a little bit and they turned around, to look to the witness, who were now bowing towards them.

Suddeny, Juvia felt her face get warmer but she raised her chin in pride. She was no longer just a Marquise, she was also a Duchess, and she was going to live up to the expectations.

* * *

><p>Okay, so <em>maybe<em> she was scared to death about the consumation of marriage and _maybe_ couldn't live up to the expectations.

Juvia was walking barefoot from one side to another only wearing her night gown, her hair loose, in the room that she was now to share with her husband. Yes, they would _share_ one.

Usually, the castles had joint rooms for the couples; she should have her room and he would have his. And whenever he wanted to try and have babies with her, he would open the door that joint the rooms, make the baby and go away. At least that's what Marge told her. But of course the Ice Lands_ had_ to be different in that aspect, as if she wasn't scared enough with the changes.

Another thing the old lady told her was about what happened in the bedroom after the marriage.

_"Just lie in the bed, dear." She was never that nice with Juvia before. "Men like to have you quiet and still. When _it_ happens, it'll be very painful and not pleasant, but you must endure it and be quiet, otherwise he might get angry. After a while it will become less painful and after a few years, you'll have the descendents the noble men want so much and then he'll stop coming to you." _

_"It's gonna _hurt_?" Juvia was surprised. No one ever told her _that_. _

_"Yes. A lot, actually." Marge nodded and Juvia's eyes had the size of the moon. Marge had explained to her years ago of how babies were made, but she left out the part where it hurt very badly! The away was combing the younger woman's hair, since the Marquise already had a bath to wait for her new husband. Her hair was loose, without the curls and reached almost her waist. "But you are a strong child. And that Duke… he is a handsome one. You got lucky. My husband was an oger." The old woman said with bitterness. "The only good thing he ever did was give me my children. You'll have your own children to love as well. Keep that in mind and you'll get through is."_

_Juvia nodded and looked herself in the mirror, while Marge still combed her hair._

_'What am I getting myself into?' She asked herself quietly_.

And ten minutes before, Marge had stepped away from thew room, leaving Juvia alone with her own thoughts.

When the door opened, probably revealing the Duke, since she knew that no one else would enter his room without knocking, she sighed and before turning to look to her husband, she said to herself.

'_Juvia is strong. She can go through this._' The blue haired woman turned to look to the person standing by the door. She was strong enough to do what it took.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Marge is _such_ a buzz kill, telling Juvia that sex is bad. But she had a bad experience, so I can let it slide. And it probably was for women who had arranged marriages to men they never met and were about twice their ages. I'm glad it's not that common anymore (Yes, it still happens in many places). I mean, I _know_ my mom would try to give me a good husband if we lived back when these things happened, but the way _she_ sees a good son-in-law is _**not**_ the way _I _like my boys. Anyways, they're married! What did you think about the ceremony anyway?

And yes: Gray **Fullbuster** and Juvia **Loxar**, even **after** they're married. It will be explained.

And Juvia thinking that their previous meeting was fate… _classic_ Juvia. Oh gosh, I love her. She's so cute, and funny and beautiful. Yeaaaaaah…. *points to a corner* Sorry. I'll go fangirl over there, now.

Okay, not much interaction between our couple here, but next chapter... Well, it **is** their wedding night. Gray and Juvia will _**HAVE**_ to interact if you know what I mean… I'll try to make it longer too.

**And sorry for the wait!** I had no inspiration whatsoever. Seriously; I was blocked like I never was before! I do have many scenes from this story written, but I was totally blocked down when it came to chapter seven. Go figures. I _guess_ that my block is gone. But I'm guessing here! I was in a (VERY) big line to pay my college when I decided to write this chapter in my phone, since I had nothing better to do, forgive me if it is no good after so much wait! I'll try to update faster now, alright? This semester I have a few boring classes and now I have a phone where I can write. Kudos! :D **But ****don't**** do that in your classes**. I do it because I am bad. Bad Bonney. Tsc tsc.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are the best!

R&R, my loves? ;D Yes, I'm flirting with you to get a review. Oh, gosh how lower can I go? :O


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **Fear not, this story's still alive! Not a very big chapter, but I hope you like it!

**The Duchess**

Chapter 08

Duke Gray Fullbuster was known for being a brave man. He had faced some enemies in his not so long life, he fought and won; very few things actually scared him. But enter in the room that he was now supposed to share with his wife was scaring him more than he ever thought it would.

For the gods' sake! He defeated warriors from Across the Sea, from Beyond the Cold Mountains. He faced warriors that had the advantage; and Gray never even blinked before going to battle.

He was a brave man, an excellent soldier and incredible leader when it came down to war.

So why getting inside the room his new wife scared him so much?

The Duke was about to turn and go away for the night. He could deal with her later, right? It wasn't unheard of the newly-weds to not share a bed right after when the marriage took place, but of course, most of those marriages were performed in the middle of war for alliances purposes, so the bride and groom didn't exactly had much time together.

And there wasn't a war happening, so Gray needed to rule _that_ excuse out for not entering the room.

He sighed. It wasn't like his wife wasn't pretty. Gray found himself surprised once he saw her, actually. The rumors he had heard convinced him that the reason why the girl never appearing in public was because she was not pretty, but that was wrong info. Gray looked down; it wasn't _that_ what was making him uncomfortable. Actually, he was quite sure that he would very much like it when they tried to make… _successors_.

Shaking his head slightly, he knew exactly why he didn't want to come in. It was an arranged marriage. Arranged by two old men who mostly like were drunk when made the deal. That woman was a complete stranger to him, and she was the person that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. The only woman in his life from the moment he signed the papers until the day he dies.

Gray raised his head and with determination, entered the room. It was his duty as a Duke to guarantee that the marriage didn't fall into pieces and he was going to do just that.

Once he opened the door, he was surprised to see her standing and even more surprised to learn the length of her hair, long enough to reach her hips. The times he had seen her, she was wearing the curls by the end of it and found it odd, but probably was some kind of Rain thing. The Marquise – now also Duchess – was wearing a very ugly and large white nightgown – which only left her head and hands showing – and he wanted to laugh at it, but didn't. Gray didn't want to insult her during their first night together.

Her deep blue eyes were showing the fear and uncertainty that she was feeling at that moment and Gray felt bad for her. The look in her eyes resembled a lot the one he always received once a deer he had been hunting acknowledged his position and intentions.

It never ended very well for the deer, he was afraid. But he was going to try to do better by his… wife.

"Hi." Gray greeted his wife and closed the door of his -no, _their_- room. He saw her blush and he also felt his cheeks become hot. At that very moment there were people toasting because the duke was producing heirs and that bothered Gray; he didn't want everyone to know what he was doing with his wife. He removed the thought of his head and spoke again, more firmly this time. "I know you know this already, but I'm Gray."

She looked confused for a moment, before saying in a tiny voice: "Ju-Juvia." She did a courtesy.

"Nice meeting you." He offered her a smile and stepped foward her, making the blunette step back. Gray immediately stopped once he saw it. "Sorry. Sorry." Of course: she was terrified.

They stayed in silence and without moving for a few minutes, just eyeing each other.

"Hm... What were you doing at the balcony last night?" Gray asked trying to break the ice while he stepped closer to the bed and started removing his coat. He was trying to look unaffected by that situation. "I thought that someone had forbidden you to do these things."

"Ju-Juvia wanted to loo-look around a bit." She stuttered and looked away from where the Duke was.

"I see." He nodded and crossed his arms above his chest. He understood her urge of exploring a new place, he was like that when he first came to Avalanche Castle. "But we shouldn't have met."

"So-sorry." Juvia mumbled and looked down. "Juvia didn't know."

"It's fine." Gray waved her off. "It doesn't matter anymore; we are married and this is an archaiac rule anyways." He saw her nod and he sighed. She wasn't very talkative, was she? "So, Juvia... Can I call you Juvia?" The woman nodded. "Before we do anything, let's talk."

He sat on the bed and looked to the space beside him. Juvia noticed that it was his way of telling her to join him. Bitting her lower lip, she did what she was asked and sat beside her husband trying to take less space as she could.

Once she was settled, Gray started to talk, looking to the wall in front of them.

"We are married." He stated. "We cannot change that. Today, I promised to take care of you until I die and I don't go back on my word." Gray paused. "So, from today on, you and I are linked forever." He turned to look at her and caught her staring at him. Juvia's expression showed how apprehensive she was; and also curiosity about what he was talking about. "And forever is a _long_ time. I know a few married couples who hate each other because they were forced to get married, or never tried to get along and I don't want this. If you and I are going to stay at each other's side, I think that I have to know you first and vice-versa."

"And... How exactly do we do that?" She asked.

"Well..." He looked up to the ceiling. "I think that we have to talk, or something." Gray shrugged. "I mean, that's the fastest way of knowing each other, right?"

"Okay." Juvia said. They stayed in silence for some time. "And how about the... _Wedding night_?" She said with emphasis, because she knew that talking was not done much during wedding nights.

Gray felt his face become hot as he blushed.

"Well..." He cleared his throat. "We will only be doing _that_ when we are comfortable with each other." He looked at her. "I can tell that you are afraid and I don't want to scare you even more. I'd rather wait for some time before doing... that." Gray's eyes went back to the ceiling. "Everything will happen when we think it should happen. We may not have the choice when it came down to this marriage, but now we do." He stopped talking for a moment and stared back at her. "This castle is yours too. You can do whatever you want, as long as you have an escort. We can never be too careful: you are new here and I would feel better if one of my guards had your back for some time. I'll make sure to ask him to stay in a distance that doesn't bother you much."

Juvia was staring at her husband with fascination. Marge made her so scared with her stories about how married life was, while the Duke, one of the most powerful man in the country was trying to comfort and make her feel better.

"Thank you." She said quietly and he smiled, making her blush and her heart started to make crazy movements inside her chest and her stomach started to feel weird again.

"No problem." He said and got up from the bed. "Let's go to sleep, then. Tomorrow morning we can talk more."

Juvia glanced towards the bed and then to Gray. Noticing her insecurity, Gray chuckled and grabbed a pillow.

"Don't worry. You have the bed and I'll get the couch until we agree otherwise." He pointed to the comfy couch across the room.

"Juvia can get the couch. She doesn't mind." The Duchess said, using the third person talk without realize; and even though Gray thought it was stange, he didn't comment on it.

"Of course not." He rolled his eyes. "I know that you think that the couch is not comfortable, but it is. To tell the truth sometimes I just sleep there." And it was true. A few times a week, whenever he had a rough and demanding day, Gray sat on the couch to take his boots off, but ended up sleeping there instead; he was used to it.

Juvia nodded and waited until he put the pillow on the couch before she laid on the big bed again.

He mumbled a 'good night' and she responded it back. Juvia thought that she was going to be afraid of being sleeping in the same room as a total stange alone, but she wasn't. Strangely, when he had told her that they would only take their relationship foward when they were prepared, she had believied in him. Somehow, inside her heart, she knew he was going to keep his promise, so, when sleep came, she didn't fight it.

She was exhausted. She got married, then had to meet some of the people who worked at Avalanche Castle, then there was the stress over the wedding night, plus the bad night she had before.

And somehow, she felt that a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, so she let sleep take over her.

Gray sighed happily as soon as his back hit the couch. He had a long, _long_ day. Getting married was stressful, but at least, he and Juvia reached a agreement. They would try to be at least friends and would just take things further when they were ready.

The guys from the counsil would start pressure him about when they could expect an heir for the Duchy but he would tell them to shove it; he had agreed with that marriage without much fight, so if they started bothering him to impregnate Juvia, he would get angry.

He closed his eyes and started drifting to sleep. His troubles would still be there when he woke up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Okay, I take too long to update this. Forgive me. ;;'

So, no hanky panky for Gray and Juvia in their wedding night. Darn it. But, well... Everything in its time, right? I don't think that Gray would have sex with a girl he just met like that. Eventually, it is going to happen, but he wouldn't have the girl if she was afraid, that's why I made them not be together, so he could have a good impression from Juvia.

Anyways, **chapter 303**: Ovaries = boom! RIGHT?

Enough said, thank you all who reviewed! I'm still without internet in my house and writing to respond all of you will most likely make me explode with anger because the keybord is awful, so, i'll just thank you all for your support. *-*


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **Okay, I just realized that I hadn't updated this since October and it's April. I am a freaking monster. Someone still reads this?

**The Duchess**

Chapter 09

It had been two weeks since the marriage and Juvia and Gray had fallen into a routine. In the mornings, they would have breakfast together with Jose Porla, who decided to stay for some time to make sure that she was alright, as he said. Then, Gray would go to his office and deal with Duchy issues, while Juvia went to the big salon and sew. When it was lunch time, the Duke and Duchess -plus Jose Porla- would eat together and right after, Gray would go out with his horse and a few guards to check the lands surrounding Avalanche Castle, while Juvia would go back to the salon and sew. After dinner -with Jose Porla, of course-, they would talk for a while and then went to sleep: she occupying the bed, while he slept on the couch.

Juvia didn't like that routine. Not at all.

First: she didn't want Jose around during the times Juvia was with her husband. They barely talked during the meals and she was certain that it was the older man who was making it impossible. The Duchess had learned that her husband didn't like to share much and even though he was the one who suggested that they needed to know each other better, with Jose there it was difficult; Gray had made very clear that he didn't like the other man if his silence wasn't enough.

And second: she hated sewing and it seemed the only thing she was doing since she got there, right next to eating. Juvia had made to herself a new dress during the time she was living in that castle. And not a simple one, it was kind of fancy.

Third: Juvia wanted her husband to really look at her!

Her instincs about Gray were right; she knew it now. He tried to be detached from the world, but the truth was that he loved that duchy. One time, when Jose was late for dinner, Juvia had asked how his day was and surprinsingly, he answered.

_"This season we were able to provide for all of the villages." She saw the sparkle in his eyes. "The roughest time we have around here is Winter because of obvious reasons, but it's tough during the warmer months too. This was a very good Spring. A few years back, when my grandfather's father ruled, even during the Summer and Spring the rates of deaths because of malnutrition was insanely high." He smiled. "Sorry, I talked too much."_

_"No, please, continue." She said eagerly. Juvia didn't stutter as much when he was around. Only if the Duke was too close to her, of course. Her stomach would start to feel funny and she would forget how to speak like a normal person. But at that moment, Juvia was too excited because her husband was talking to her. "Juvia likes to hear about the Duchy."_

_Gray nodded. "Alright, then." He was glad that his wife was showing interest in her new home. "When the Summer comes, if we do it again -have supplies for all villages, that is-, I am confident that when the Winter comes we will be alright." He chuckled. "The past few years we've been holding on, but this year, I'm confident we will finally have a good winter."_

_"Juvia is glad." The blue haired woman smiled truly glad that her husband was happy about the Duchy._

_"And there's your March." Gray said, smiling even wider. "I received a letter earlier; the Blue Diamonds that were being shipped to the Duchy of Spring arrived with no problems."_

_"Really?" Juvia asked, surprised._

_"Yes." He nodded. "My guess is that whoever is stealing is afraid of make a move since I am your husband and the new lord of the March." He stopped for a moment and smirked. "And well... I _did_ change the routes of the ships. Maybe they're just lost."_

_Juvia put a hand over her mouth and giggled._

_"Very smart, Gray-sama." She said._

_"You know that just 'Gray' is fine, Juvia." He rolled his eyes._

_"Ju-Juvia can't." The Duchess' face became vermillion and she looked down with shyness._

_"Fine." He sighed. "If you prefer it like that, it's fine. Just so you know, I'm not calling you 'Juvia-sama', my wife or not." He joked._

_She looked up and was about to tell him that she didn't expect him to, but she saw the playful look on his eyes and her face became even redder. He was so handsome when was carefree like that._

_Jose Porla chose to enter the dining room at that moment and Gray's posture changed. His shoulders straighten, his face became stoic and all playfulness left his eyes. He was the Duke, then; not Gray._

Juvia wanted that again; she wanted to talk to her husband when he was Gray, not when he was the Duke. Honestly? She wanted Jose gone. She felt small amount of guilt; Jose was the only father figure she ever had, but she was a married woman and she needed to know her husband.

And that day, was the day he was going back to the March of Rain.

Finally, Juvia thought. She was glad to see him going. Jose was the man who pretty much raised her, but she knew that most of people would get uncomfortable around him, and to tell the truth he was too nosy. The man practically asked in what position Juvia and the Duke consumate the marriage –which they still hadn't done it–!

She waved good-bye while the charriet went away, and with it, most of the guards that came with her, and of course, Jose Porla.

Gajeel was by her side, stoic as ever. He chose to stay with Juvia. He and Marge were the only ones who stayed and the Duchess was glad they did. Marge, even with her pessimist behaviour, was the woman who raised her and she was glad to have at least her there. Gajeel said that he was her guard and would be until she herself says that his services were not needed anymore.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go, Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked as the chariot with Jose went away and the man snorted.

"And leave your security to these stupid snow guards?" His red eyes focused on her. "Sorry, but they're more interested in protecting the Duke, not you. A wife is replaceable; the man with the lineage is not."

The Duchess nodded. "Juvia is glad that you chose to stay. It's good to have faces she recognizes."

"Whatever. Don't get all mushy on me." Gajeel said and Juvia giggled.

"Let's get inside. Now that Master is gone, maybe Juvia can do things other than sewing."

**#**

Avalanche Castle was a very, very big place; Juvia noticed that she could easily get lost there if she wasn't careful enough. Gajeel was following her, of course. Probably making his own map inside his head in case they needed to run. Juvia was just enjoying the place.

The two weeks since the wedding, she had only seen her room, the dining room and the sewing room, where she and Marge would stay most of the day.

It was strange, to see all those people inside the castle. Lots of housemaids were passing by and bowing to her before resuming their tasks of cleaning whichever. Juvia was, as always, surprised to see how much sunlight the castle had. The big windows provided it, and also the beautiful image of the mountains and the snow.

After checking the eastern side of the castle, Juvia and Gajeel wander off the western one. It appeared to be much older than the other one and she guessed that it was the first side to be built. The Duchess and her guard were in silence for most of the time, and neither bothered with meaningless talk. They never did.

After a few minutes, down the main hall of western side, they stopped in front of a big painting; it was of the previous Duke, Juvia guessed. And even though he was in his mid-twenties or so he had hair as white as the snow outside. He was wearing the formal clothes from the Ice Lands and was standing by a woman, also in her mid-twenties. She had dark hair and eyes that reminded Juvia of her husband. She had a baby on her arms, a girl with a small amount of white hair wearing a dress that looked a lot like the Duchess. The boy was standing in front of his father, his white hair exactly like the Duke's.

Right under the painting, there was written: _Leonard V. and his family – 30th Duke of Winter_.

"A kid with white hair is _freaky_. Old people have white hair." Gajeel said frowning slightly and then smirked. "Maybe you'll have small elderly babies, Juvia. It's clearly possible."

At this, the Duchess laughed. "Yes. That's not going to happen for a while, Gajeel-kun."

He shrugged. "Think about the bright side of it: if you find a guy with white hair to have an affair with, no one will know if you have _his_ baby."

"Gajeel-kun!" She turned to face him with her cheeks bright red. "Juvia would _never_…" He just laughed and ducked as she tried to give him small slaps on his arm. She was laughing with him after a few moments and they stopped when someone let out a cough. When Juvia turned around, she saw the amused sight of her husband, Loki a few steps behind. "Gray-sama! This is not… _we_ are not…"

Gray was leaning on a nearby wall and had a smirk on his lips as he saw his wife and her guard interact. For a moment, he thought that may had been some kind of feelings between the two, since Gajeel seemed too concerned about her but now it was clear that they were just friends.

"It's okay to explore, I told you." The Duke shrugged and started to walk towards them. "Now this is your house too you can come and go as you please." She nodded and Gajeel stepped back a bit, just enough to give them some privacy, but not much, and stood by Loki's side. Gray pointed to the painting. "As you probably guessed, this was my Grandfather, Leonard. He was the one who set the marriage with your grandfather." Juvia looked to the painting again.

"You have his eyes." She said.

"I don't think so." He frowned. "He had dark green eyes. Mine are black."

"Not the color." Juvia shook her head. "The look on his eyes; you two have the same one. Juvia doesn't know how to explain…"

"It's okay. There are things we just know." Gray said dismissing the subject. He was never told that he looked like his grandfather. That was one of the difficulties he had to face when he became Duke; for as long as people could remember the Dukes of the Ice Lands had been white haired. "Even though I don't see it. Neither does anyone else." He pointed to the woman. "That was his wife, Catherine, my grandmother. She died before I was born, so I didn't really meet her, but I was told that she was a kind woman."

"She looks like she was." Juvia whispered staring at the beautiful woman's portrait.

"The boy is my uncle London." He pointed to the little boy. "He was supposed to be the Duke after my grandfather, but he died when he was twenty eight, I think. His son was to become the Duke, but he…" Gray stopped talking to choose his words carefully. "He was not up for the task." Juvia looked towards her husband's direction and saw his face change a little, he was much more relaxed before and now he was tense; decided to not stay on the subject much longer, afraid that he would push her away, the Duchess pointed to the baby.

"So this is your mother?" It was obvious, but she asked anyway.

He nodded. "Yes. Her name was Lysa." Gray said, relaxing a bit and looking fondly at the image of his mother as a child. "It is weird to see her like this. Unfortunately, I am starting to forget about her face." He said sadly. "I remember that she smelled nice, though. She sang to me when she put me to sleep. And she was warm."

"That's nice." Juvia said softly, stepping closer to her husband and putting a soothing hand on his arm. "Don't you have another painting of her?"

"I never searched. There are so many paintings of my ancestors stocked away and with the Duchy problems… I never got the time." The dark haired man said. "I don't think my father and her had the money to pay a painter to make a portrait of them. We struggled a lot to survive." Juvia didn't understand.

"You did?" She asked.

"Yes." Gray smirked. "Grandfather almost had a heart attack when Mom ran away from Avalanche Castle when she was fifteen to find her own way out in the world, I heard people say. She hated it here: to be told what to do, how to behave… She was what we can call a _free spirit_. Father had a small amount of land and had a few cows, horses and goats. They met after three years she ran away and they got married. Two years later, she had me."

"Really?" Juvia was surprised. "Did you grow up in a farm?"

"I did." The Duke said. "Until I was seven my life was all about how to tend cows and horses. I liked the horses better. Do you ride?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Juvia did learn how to ride, yes." She smiled. "It was fun, because it was outside and Juvia barely had lessons because the rain almost never stops. But it was good enough."

"That's nice." Gray said and then returned his attention to the painting. "That's all, I think. One day we will also have our painting up here." He sighed. "When all these rules start to strangle me, I want to just do like my mom and go. But it is my duty now. There's already one 'free spirit' in the family." Gray rolled his eyes and when Gray spoke the word 'duty', Juvia removed her hand from his arm and felt some pain in her heart.

'_Oh, right. Juvia's just a duty_.' She thought sadly.

"Gray-sama has family?" Juvia asked, smiling brightly so he couldn't see how his words hurt.

"A cousin. We don't see each other much." He shrugged. "You don't have to concern yourself with him." Gray said. "I doubt he's ever going to come here in a long time. He also hated this place, like my mother did."

"So, Leonard the Fifth, Catherine, London and Lysa, right?" Juvia asked.

"Yes, but my Grandfather was not the 'Fifth.' The V stands for Vastia. He was Leonard Vastia, my uncle was London Vastia and my cousin is Lyon Vastia. My mother and I were the only Fullbusters." Gray said and after a moment, Juvia seemed to be assimilating all he told her. "Well, anyway… I was searching for you. Follow me." He offered his arm, lithe the gentleman he was. The Duchess frowned slightly, but accepted his arm and both of them started to walk away from the painting, followed by their guards a few steps away from the couple.

**#**

Juvia, with her new and much warmer coat, followed Gray until they were outside on the stables. She had no idea of what they were doing out there, but she was curious to find out. When they got inside the stables, Juvia saw that it was much warmer than she expected.

The horses were very well treated, she could tell. "They are so beautiful." She said to Gray while she looked around.

"They are. I particularly like horses, as I told you." He grabbed her hand and went straight to the middle stall, where a very beautiful dark horse was. "This is mine. I call him Black-Rust. Not original, I know." Juvia giggled. The Duke put the hand he was holding towards the horse, so she could touch it. "Get to know him."

Carefully, Juvia started to caress Black-Rust with tenderness. She also liked horses but never had one of her own back in the March. The only reason she was allowed to have riding lessons was because she convinced Master Jose to only take the classes when it wasn't raining. As it was rare, he let her.

"Hello there." She whispered to the horse. "You are such a beautiful boy." The horse let out a breath, as if it was agreeing and the Duchess laughed. "_And_ you know it. Okay, Juvia understands." She looked over her shoulder to her husband. He was looking to his side, as if he was expecting something. "Gray-sama?"

"Yes?" he asked returning his attention back to her.

"Why are all the other horses white while Black-Rust is not?" The blunette asked with genuine curiosity.

"Those are the horses of the guards. It is better to blend it with the rest of the landscape." Gray said. "Mine is black because I never liked hiding. If I go to the battlefield, I want the enemy to know exactly who I am." There was some movement from the ending of the stable and Gray grinned. "Here she is!"

A man was bringing a caramel colored horse that had its hair in a light yellow tone. Even inside the stables and with the indoors light, the horse seemed to glow. "It is a common thing for the husband to give her new wife a gift for the wedding. So… This is my gift to you." Juvia had stepped away from Black-Rust's stall and was frowning in confusion. Gray smiled and pointed to the caramel horse. "It's yours."

Juvia looked to her husband confused. It couldn't be true, could it? "What?"

"I thought very hard about what to give to you and I thought it would be good if you had your own horse. You seem like you would like to ride." The man shrugged. "Besides, someday I could take you to explore around the castle." He looked to the horse.

The Duchess couldn't believe what was happening to her. A little hesitant, she went closer to the horse. All of its body was colored like caramel. But the hair of its tail and the one on its head and neck were long and inevitable blonde. And anyone could see that that horse was one fine specimen. She was gorgeous, of course.

And it was _Juvia's_. Her husband thought of her and bought it. _For her_.

Without even thinking of what she was doing, she let out a happy squeal and jumped up and down all the way from where the horse was, until she reached her husband, who was openly smiling with her reaction. Juvia, then, let her arms evolve the man's shoulders, in an awkward hug, but she was too happy to care.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. _Thank you_!" She said, squeezing him, while the Duke let out a small laugh because of her reaction. "Really, _thank you_. That's the best gift ever." Juvia looked up, and feeling a little brave after receiving such gift, she got on her toes and kissed the Duke.

Right. Into. His. Lips.

It was only for a few seconds and only a brush of their lips, but it counted nonetheless.

Letting him go, Juvia smiled brightly and went back to her new pet, talking to it calmly as she could because her heart was pounding like crazy inside her chest; and it was hard to focus when her husband was looking kind of silly, still with a shocked expression. Juvia was more forward than he (or herself) thought she would be.

And somehow, he liked that side of her.

**#**

**AN:** This story is aliiiiiive! Muahaha. Ha, and I am updating on the last day of Gruvia week! **I bet you were not expecting it, were you**? It just hit me: I didn't upload this for six months! I am such a monster, I know.

Anyways, LYON and a KISS! I hope this chapter made up for the lack of updates. It was a very big deal! Jose is finally gone and now our newlyweds can finally interact with each other.

Thanks to: **TheShortSwag, Teehee, WiseLoad43, CoolCat19698, VitalBlueStatic, Guest, c.c, dotdotdanii, Juvelia, Yarachi-chanX3, Duchess K, fairyhearts, DanielleUchihaHyuuga, Cat Goliath, Fata Lunevis, Destiny1027, Guest, noemie, Juline kame, EmillyIzidio, penguin trainer, Essence97, NekoMaji, KidTantei, Sangami, MiniKoreanKitty, Shikax3, Juvialce, Seyrin, Sarapyon, mafi ariadne, MissForgetfulMe, Matryoshka475, Yukari Hiwada, AurelieBonhoffen, Burningxdrake, JellalxErza, Ushiio, Yukistar, superduperizee, Anonns02, Gray-Mochi, Chibi Waru-Chan, Xeylah, Armaggedon Angel **and** CalaveraCandiedSkull**, who reviewed! Wow, I never thought I'd have so many reviews in only one chapter! But it _did_ take me six months to update. I promise to try my very best to not take this long once again! Thank you all for the amazing reviews.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: **Boo-ya! You were not expecting for this, were you? :D

I dedicate this chapter to **superduperizee,** who was the 500th reviewer of my other fanfiction: 'What's to Expect When You Are Expecting' – I am sorry is not exactly what you ordered, but I hope you like it either way!

**#**

**The Duchess**

Chapter 10

Juvia Lockser always had a hard time to have friends; so much, that her _only_ true friend was her personal guard, Gajeel Redfox –who was a brute and rude _man_–, so when she found herself around other girls, the Duchess always felt awkward.

But somehow, it was fading away.

Her husband had introduced Juvia to Natsu Dragneel's wife, Lucy right after when they got married, and the woman was nice enough, it was Juvia who froze. It wasn't really her fault, actually. Back at her March, while growing up, she never had much contact with girls her age; the little blunette was always around Marge and much older women, learning how to sew and cook. To tell the truth, cooking was the only activity the blue haired woman liked doing, because she was good at it. Back in her old house, the cook always let her into the kitchen, but at Avalanche Castle, she was a newcomer.

Lucy was always around when Juvia was not exploring the castle. She was blonde with big brown eyes and a kind face, making her beautiful. Honestly, one of the most beautiful women Juvia knew, and she was positively glowing, since she was pregnant.

At the day of the wedding, no one could see it yet, but then, it had been a month and a half since the wedding and the woman was starting to show, much to Natsu's pride. It was nice to see him taking care of her. But when Lucy went to visit her father, Natsu didn't like to stay behind. The blonde had to explain to him that she was just going to spend a couple of weeks there and be home in less than a month; she wanted to see her father before she was too big and sore to walk around. Grumpily, the pink haired man agreed and asked Gray to have a couple of his men to go with her, since he couldn't go himself, he was needed in a food delivery for a village that was difficult to go and would be out for almost as long as Lucy would.

The Duke said 'yes, of course' and Natsu got a little less troubled. Their farewell was sweet to see: him kneeling in front of her slightly distended stomach whispering his good-byes to his child, while Lucy blushed and petted his hair, right before the man rose, kissed her soundly on the lips and then enter the chariot, going to the Duchy of Spring.

Juvia's own relationship with Gray was getting better: they ate together every day, even when his day was busy – which she thought it was sweet – and he helped in her riding lessons three times. The Duke thought it was better if she practiced a little inside the confine of Avalanche Castle, instead of just trusting Jose's man, who barely taught her how to get on a horse.

She named her horse Honey and Gray had laughed at it – both were in the stables one day, brushing their horses hair, both in their most normal clothes while tending to Black-Rust and Honey –, telling her that they were not very authentic when naming their pets. They laughed about it for a while.

The sleeping arrangements were still the same, though. He slept on the couch and she slept on the big cold bed.

One day, when she was sure the Duke wouldn't return to their room, she lied down on it. The blunette thought it was nice enough but not as nice as sleeping on a bed. Juvia had to change their dynamics concerning their sleeping habits; it was not fair that she took all the niceties for herself.

Juvia decided to talk to him later that week, when she gathered courage. The bed sure was big enough for them to share. Plus, to tell the truth, she felt her heart beat faster for him more and more often.

That morning, while eating breakfast together, Gray asked how her riding classes were going.

"They are fine, Gray-sama." Juvia told him with a smile. "The bad thing is that just turning around that small circle is not cutting for Juvia anymore."

He smirked. "I was thinking that after lunch I could take you to a ride in the forest. It's an easy path and there's a lot of open space for you to train your riding skills. I am a little tired of these walls and I guess that you are too. Wanna go?"

Juvia almost chocked on her toast when she heard his proposal. "Really? Can we get out?" Her eyes were so hopeful that the Duke couldn't help but to smile at her.

"Sure. It's been a while since Black-Rust and I went for a ride too. And you can take Honey for a stroll too." He took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Yes!" The Duchess was a little too excited, but then calmed herself and repeated, like she was taught to do: "Yes, Juvia would like that."

"Good." The black haired man nodded. "Are you going to help in the kitchens again?"

Ever since the blunette found herself with nothing else to do, she asked to help the main cook, Mrs. Hilda, a large boned woman that seemed to have a never fading frown that was a little too rude and not too happy (like the other women) about having the mistress of the house in her kitchen, but let Juvia peel potatoes and was a little too happy to make the Duchess clean the dirty utensils before letting the blunette go to get ready to eat with the Duke.

Juvia wasn't familiar with the treatment at first, but didn't mind much, as long as she didn't have to stay sewing all the time. During the afternoon, she would spend it with Lucy and a new friend; a maid called the Levy – the same one Gajeel scared half to death when they arrived –, she would go to the room both women were and they would talk about books, because the maid loved them; or they could walk around the castle and once in a while it was Juvia's turn to do it on her own (Gajeel didn't have to follow her around anymore, he was training to become a member of Gray's guard, so to return to be on Juvia's duty again).

"Yes. Mrs. Hilda needs her potatoes." Juvia smiled and Gray nodded, he was afraid of the cook, he admitted, and as long as the woman didn't have any complaints, it was fine. She seemed happy to do something around the castle.

"So, after lunch, we get prepared and leave, alright?" The Duchess smiled widely and returned her attention to the food.

**#**

Juvia was so excited! As she went to the stable to meet her husband, the woman was almost jumping in happiness: she was finally getting out of those walls!

Wearing pants was foreign to her but apparently women who wanted to ride there, it was better than a dress and she couldn't agree more: the white tight pants and the high brown boots were strange for her to wear – Marge always told her that she had too wide hips. And even though her dark blue coat was warm enough and covered her too big breasts and reached under her knees. She wore a hat too, with a butterfly pin on it.

She wondered if her husband would like her looks. The young woman was becoming vain about her looks: she wandered if Gray liked her appearance.

"Hi, Gray-sama." The Duchess greeted her husband, who looked up from his black horse. He was wearing a thick coat as well, and for a man what to wear for a ride wasn't much different from day to day clothes, at least in Juvia's perspective.

"Hey." He smiled at her. "Honey is ready for you." He nodded towards the stable boy, who was bringing the yellow horse for her. Juvia thanked him and caressed her pet, whispering sweet words. "I… I haven't seen you in those before."

Juvia frowned and then looked down to her pants, blushing. "Oh. These are better for riding."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat, and then stepped closer to her, offering a hand. "Can we?"

The Duchess smiled and took his hand as he helped her up to her horse. "Yes, we can."

After both were settled, Juvia looked around to see their guard and when found none, asked her husband about it. The Duke rolled his eyes and said: "We're just going to go until the forest and return. No need for guards."

When they were out of the Castle's gates, both just let their horses walk in a slow pace as he pointed towards the villages they could see from far away. After a while, when the distance from it was considerable, Gray turned to talk to her, they were in a plateau, about a mile away from the forest, where only the road was brown, everything else was white because of the snow and there weren't many trees on the way.

"Ride."

"Hm?" Juvia asked distractedly.

"I know you want to ride. Just do. Do whatever you want, as long as you don't break your neck doing it, I don't see why don't you just go and ride the way you want to." He pointed towards the forest. "I'll race you there."

"But, but…" Juvia tried to say, but Gray was already yelling.

"One, two, three… go!" And then he induced Black-Rust to trot fast.

Juvia thought for a moment before trying to do the same with Honey, and the horse seemed to be waiting for it, because as soon as Juvia gave her the command, it was on fire! Black-Rust was soon by their side, since the dark horse seemed to not receive guidance to go faster.

The Duchess felt her hat fly away, but couldn't care less about it, all she could feel was the adrenalin as she made Honey trot faster and faster up until they surpassed Gray and his own horse.

Her hair was flowing back, her face was burning with the cold air, Honey was going too fast, Juvia could hear Gray calling for her faintly, but the Duchess felt like she was flying; for the first time in her life, she was completely free, no strings, no leash, just… free.

And she was not returning to a cage, not without a fight.

Once she reached the beginning of the forest, she stopped and a few moments later, Gray arrived. Juvia got down from the horse and soon as Gray arrived, he did it too.

"Are you crazy? I told you not to do anything that could break your ne…" He was interrupted by the woman's arms being thrown around his shoulders and her lips meeting his, a little clumsy, but they met for a few moments; enough to make his own arms grab her hips.

When she stopped the kiss, as abruptly as it began, she threw her head back and laughed, and then returned to stare at his dark, confused eyes.

"That was the best thing that ever happened to Juvia. She doesn't know how you do it, but… you do it. You make her feel and do so many things without even trying to make her do so." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"I… erm… You're welcome, I guess." The Duke said, a little embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he let go of her waist and she unwrapped her arms from his shoulders. "Well, go get Honey. We'll walk a little and then return to the castle, okay?"

"Sure." Juvia was too high in adrenalin that didn't even blush with their contact. That day was being perfect so far, and if it was up to her, it would still be.

**#**

After half an hour, Gray was showing her a few types of trees and bushed they found on the way, some animals – they even saw a deer from afar – and everything was very interesting for Juvia, but she was there to have fun with her husband, not to learn about the fauna and flora.

Being bold, she leaned and gathered in her gloved hand some snow and made it into a ball as Gray explained something about squirrels and before she could think twice, she threw it and hit him right over his right shoulder.

The Duke stopped on his tracks and then turned around slowly.

"Did you just..." Gray looked confused for a moment. "Did you just throw a _snow ball_ at me?"

"No." Juvia looked up, with a small smile playing on her lips as she tried her best to look innocent. She still held Honey.

"Oh, really?" Gray narrowed his eyes, obviously not buying it. "Because there's only the two of us here. And I am pretty sure that you just did that."

"No idea of what you're talking about." Juvia shrugged, refusing to look to her husband, finding a certain bush very interesting.

"Fine." He turned, looking ahead again, and the Duchess could finally smile widely, but it vanished fast when she saw him let Black-Rust go and lean to the ground.

She knew _exactly_ what he was doing. When Gray turned around, he looked evilly pleased with the funny look of horror in her face.

"Don't do it." She said, a laughing a little, but nervous. He wasn't holding a small snowball.

"You started. It means war." Gray said in a matter-of-fact tone and positioned himself to throw the ball at her. When he threw it, she squealed and hid behind Honey, as the snowball hit the poor horse. Honey just looked towards Gray, and the Duke knew that if it could raise an eyebrow, it would be doing exactly that.

"Don't hide!" Gray leaned again to gather more snow. "Take it like a man!"

"Juvia's a woman!" He heard her giggle as another snowball hit him in the back. If he was standing, that one would've been hit right into his chest.

"Ow!" He complained, although it didn't _really_ hurt. "It doesn't matter! You're hiding behind your horse! That makes you a coward!" He had a snowball in each hand.

"That makes Juvia _smart_!" He heard her voice from his left side, making him move and throw a ball towards the direction. She was now hidden between the trees and bushes. The trees were thick enough to cover her fully. "Ouch!" He smirked as she complained about getting hit.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Another snowball came and hit him on the shoulder. "Shit!" He threw the other one in the general direction he knew she was probably in, and went to hide behind Black-Rust, who made a sound as if he was rolling his eyes. Gray stared at the horse with a scowl. "Shut up! It's a strategy. I'm not hiding." Gray could swear that his horse _snorted_ at him. "I said _shut up_. It doesn't look like it, but she's strong!" He rubbed his shoulder.

"Thank you, Gray-sama." The Duke groaned when he heard the amused voice of his wife from across the glade.

"I'm getting you for this, woman!"

**#**

Half hour later, they were both exhausted, but they were in a tie! Seventeen hits for her and seventeen for him. And Gray would be damned if he was getting beat by a girl that _just _started playing snowballs fights. He was raised with it! There was no way.

No. Way. In. Hell.

"The next one to get hit is the loser!" Gray yelled a little breathless, from behind a tree. They gave up hiding behind their horses, because they moved out of the way and it was a little embarrassing to be caught like that. Currently Black-Rust and Honey were standing together to keep themselves warmer while their stupid owners were acting like kids.

"Fine!" Juvia yelled too and he came out of his hiding place only to see her standing away from a tree, ready to hit him.

She threw a snowball at him, which he quickly dodged. He was about to throw his own when realized where his wife was standing. And it wasn't good. Not at all.

"Juvia!" He yelled. "Come back here. Now."

"Juvia will not fall for this!" She tried to move to go hide, but Gray stopped her.

"Don't move." He yelled, worried, and let his own snowball hit the floor. The Duchess stared at him in confusion. "Look… I don't want to scare you, but you're standing over a frozen river." Juvia took a breath and her eyes became big. He took a few steps towards her, carefully, so he wouldn't be standing over it as well. "I know… I _know_... But I am here, okay?" She nodded and he knew that the color that he saw in her face while playing with him was gone, because of her fear.

"That's as far as I can come." He said and there was still about two meters between them. "I need you to _slowly_ walk towards me, alright?" She nodded and started to move her feet. "Good." He said with confidence to hide the fear he was also feeling.

Actually, he was _terrified_. That river was a fierce one. If she fell… There was no way that… Stupid him for getting so caught that he forgot about the frozen river.

"You're doing great, Juvia." He smiled to her, to make her feel better. Gray offered his hand and stretched himself as far as he could. "Grab my hand and you'll be alright. I won't let you go, no matter what."

"Okay." Juvia said looking only to his hand, she gave another hesitant step and leaned to take his hand when a sound made both of them look down to her feet at the same time. A second later both looked up with fear evident in their eyes.

Immediately, Gray stepped closer to her, forgetting his own safety, but it all happened too fast.

"Juvia!" It was all Gray could say, before the ice beneath her break, making the woman disappear in the freezing water.

**#**

It was cold.

It was too cold for her to even struggle. The current was too strong to fight, but Juvia tried, anyways. All her instincts kicked in, so that she could fight with all for her life, even though she knew it wasn't going to change the outcome.

She was going to _die_ in that river.

It wasn't like she wanted to die, but she at least was happy before it happened. She never had so much fun with her husband until then. Juvia loved the way he was laughing and playing with her.

Fate really hated her. It was the _only_ explanation.

Juvia was still moving her arms trying to save herself when she touched something very solid. Without even knowing what it was, she grabbed it with all her strength, because she knew that whatever it was, it could be her only way out of there.

And she wasn't going with the current anymore. She was holding something that was strong enough to not let her go with the current!

Gathering all her strength, she pulled herself up. And again, and again, and again.

Juvia was aware that her air supply was running low. She knew because her lungs began to hurt, but she needed to keep going, or die trying. With the thought of dying, the adrenaline of her body kicked in and she gave one last pull, making her head get out of the water.

The cold air she breathed couldn't have been better.

But she wasn't out of the hook yet. She was grabbing what she found out to be a branch of a fallen tree, but it wasn't to going to last much longer.

"Juvia!" She heard her husband's voice and something inside her snapped. She was _not_ going to die there. Not when she had a life to live before she could even _think_ of going to the afterlife! She was going to grow old to meet her grandkids and tell them how in her first snow fight, she beat the almighty 31st Duke of the Ice Lands.

With another pull, she was able to hug the branch which saved her life. She was out of the water enough so her Gray-sama could see her. And she knew he was closer now, because he had been calling her name rather crazily.

"Juvia!"

'_He is coming_.' She thought. '_He is coming for me. Gotta hold a little more_.'

"Juvia?" The Duchess saw the man's boots because her head rested on the branch and her vision was narrowed to the ground. "Thank god! I'll get you! Hold on."

She heard him jump next to her and only then she realized that she could stand, but it was too frigid for her to do anything other than feel the coldness around herself and hold on to the branch that saved her life.

She felt hands grab her waist and her back get in contact with Gray's chest. He brought her closer and said, inches from her ear: "Let it go, Juvia." He was talking about the branch, but Juvia couldn't. What if she let it go and the river gets her again?

As if he was reading her thoughts, Gray said, calmly. "I'll _never_ let you go. I promise."

And she believed him. She believed in him so much that she let go of the branch and let him take her to the shore.

**#**

**AN:** I should be beaten up every time I make Juvia suffer. Really. How can I make her gos through these things, when I know that she's super cute?

And… **9 chapters with 303 reviews**! Do you know how much I love you? Do you? No, you don't because whatever you are thinking it, double it. Then again. And _again_!

Really, thank you. Thank you very much!

Thanks to the 55 (wow) reviews from: **Cat Goliath****, ****Medaka-chan****, ****Xeylah****, ****Mitsuzo****, ****FairyVampire-chan****, ****Burningxdrake****, ****Yarachi-chanX3****, ****XxPlueXx****, ****superduperizee****, ****Duchess K****, ****Chibi Waru-Chan****, ****WiseLoad43****, ****Guest****, ****SakuraIchigoDark****, ****any and all anime****, ****ColurfulMermaid****, ****Aonns02****, ****Yukistar, ****animegirl115****, ****Xo56oX****, ****Guest****, ****Sandyx5****, ****pikinanouart****, ****MrsGooglyBear****, ****Essence97****, ****WednesdaySnow****, ****Guest, ****Sarapyon****, ****little kitty****, ****pattiXcrona****, ****Shimmer Lynn****, ****MimoRei13****, ****Valm****, T****heRedSin****, ****Seirin****, ****Liliana-chan****, ****Kat Taylor, ****meigore****, ****otaku03**_(I __am__ taking in consideration the Royai thing, btw haha It wouldn't be too good, though)_**, ****OrdinaryMe9****, ****mimi317****, ****Alemia****, ****Kyogan-Saori****, ****Guest****, ****Destiny1027****, ****Vangline, ****Hibbbers****, ****MusicLover212****, ****vivi, ****becauseitisbitter****, ****rawrryy69****, ****Person-A****, ****Monet, **and**YukiOnnaMonet**who reviewed! I'm sorry I can't PM you right back, but you make my heart beat faster! I love you!

08/26/2013 ~ **BonneyQ**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **So… I decided to raise the rating. Not that this is now **rated M **for future events, mostly, plus sexy times in this chapter.

**#**

**The Duchess**

Chapter 11

He needed to get her somewhere warm; her lips were far too blue and her skin too pale for his liking and the Duke knew that a trip back to the castle, receiving cold wind – even after he wrapped her in his cape – would make her even worse, so, Gray had to decide what to do as soon as he pulled his wife from the water: take her somewhere she could get warmer before returning to the castle.

So, after covering Juvia with his cape, the Duke tied Honey in Black-Rust's saddle while picking his wife up in bridal style to try and find cover for a couple of hours at least. Luckily he knew the area well enough to locate himself and remember that there were a few caves not too far from where they were.

After five minutes, Gray found the caves and put the blunette lying on the floor; she was shuddering in a worrying way, but before he could take care of her properly, they needed fire.

"Juvia, I will search for wood to burn." He told her. She tried to hold his hand, but Gray grabbed hers first and kissed it, noting how cold she was. "I am not leaving you, okay? It's just for a couple of minutes." And before she could answer him, the Duke left.

**#**

Juvia's consciousness came and went while the cold took over her body and she'd rather just pass out than shiver the way she was, but she fought the urge to sleep, while waiting for her husband to finally settle down.

She saw him start a fire – while talking to her, to keep her awake, she thought – and for a moment, she felt better, but only that wouldn't warm her up properly and the Duchess wondered what would happen.

"Juvia." Gray kneeled by her side and she opened her eyes after resting them for a moment. "I need to warm you up, but for that I need to take your clothes off." She was seeing things then, because she could swear she saw his cheeks get pinker. "Your shirt, coat and pants are soaked and it will just make you colder. I promise that you'll feel warmer later."

The Duchess would prefer that the first time he saw her without clothes would be somewhere with four walls, but at the mention of upcoming warmth she sighed in anticipation of finally feeling like a person once again and not a chunk of ice. "Y-you a-are m-my hus-hus-husband." She managed to tell him – at least they were married and no one would think it was inappropriate. "T-ta-take them o-off."

Gray nodded and reached for her feet to take off her boots and after he was done, the Duke uncovered her body, he hesitated for a second before reach for the buttons and undid them fast, then helped her sit down to push the shirt and coat away from her body and Juvia noticed that he looked everywhere but to her naked skin. The Duchess put her arms around herself to hide her body from him – maybe he didn't like it? Marge always told her that her breasts were too big for a decent girl – as she saw him reach for her pants, very concentrated on the task. She lied back on the floor and raised her hips to help him out and he still hasn't had a look.

When she was completely naked before him, Gray covered her with some blanket he had on the pouch behind the settle of Black-Rust and Juvia was about to tell him that she was still cold, not warmer like he said she would, when she saw him unbutton his own shirt.

The Duchess only saw one man without a shirt in her whole life and it had been the old man from the stables back when she was fourteen in her March; and to tell the truth she thought it was a nasty vision and if every man was like that, she'd rather be single. But her husband… he was very different from that old man; his muscles were well defined, not flaccid, for a change. His abdomen had six protuberances that she found weirdly mesmerizing.

He undid his pants and Juvia took a sharp a breath in anticipation, but let it go when she saw he was wearing his underpants and had no intention of take it off. The Duke put his clothes aside and before the blunette could say anything, Gray was underneath the blanket and by her side.

"This way you get warmer faster." Her husband informed as he put an arm under her head. "Body heat."

Juvia honestly didn't care about how it was called; the only thing she could focus was the fact that Gray was warm, so, she tried her best to snuggle onto him even more. She felt him take a sharp breath and after a moment's hesitation, he put his free arm around her.

They stayed in silence for a couple of minutes before Gray spoke. "I'm sorry that your first time out turned out this way…"

"Juvia was having fun." She whispered and tried her best to snuggle into his warmth even more. "Besides the… _river_, it was an amazing day. Juvia had fun beating you."

"That snowball fight is _not_ over." The Duke pouted and the woman giggled with his tone. "Besides, it was beginner's luck."

"Maybe Juvia is just that good." His wife hid her face on his chest and Gray hissed, she was so very cold still. The man slid his arm so he could touch her face. "What is it?"

"You are still cold." His thumb caressed her cheek and she looked up to him, their noses touching and too close, both were too close of each other to think straight. Gray leaned in and captured her lips with his – very much like Juvia had done when she kissed him after he gave her Honey – and she could feel a tiny hesitation from him as he retrieved.

"Gray-sama." Juvia whispered, eyes half opened; but she saw the change in his eyes with just the way she said his name and before she could say anything else, his lips were on hers again, this time more forcefully and passionate.

She was surprised when he coaxed her mouth open and slip his tongue in – it felt weird at first, but she soon got the hang of it – and his hand traveled to her naked back and a shiver of excitement went through her body. Her arms, which were between them shielding her upper body from touching his, moved so she could cup his face and as result, when their chests touched, the man made a sound that made her gasp when they came out for air.

"This is so wrong." Gray whispered, their mouths still touching each other's lightly. "I can't stop, but this is wrong."

"Doesn't feel wrong." Juvia whispered, her chest touching his, her nipples pebbled and touching him in a way that made her shudder. "It feels _so_ good."

"Yes." He kissed her lips once more and the blunette felt Gray's hand travel from her back to her bottom in a slow pace, until he grabbed her bum rather too forcefully and then pulled her even closer to him, her leg circled his hips closer to hers, their groins met and the man let out a groan that made Juvia feel the place between her legs throb when she felt his hardness settle there with only his underpants as barrier.

The Duke, then, turned her a little bit – without separating them – so she was on her back and he on top of her, covering her body with his own

Juvia never felt anything like it in her entire life – forget about cold, her whole body was on fire –, but instinctively she knew that if she just rolled her hips (which she did), it would make the man on top of her moan (he did) and it would make her blood boil even more – so she did it again and again and when she felt him accompany her movements, if her mouth wasn't occupied by Gray's at the moment, the Duchess knew that she would've made a loud noise of surprise and amazedness.

Her nails dug into the skin of his shoulder, the man let out a hiss of pain but it only made him grind harder against her; the Duchess had to stop kissing him to let out a sound she couldn't name.

"Dammit, Juvia." He cussed after pulling away from her. "This should _not_ be happening right now."

"Why?" She breathed, not at all bothered by his tone and more interested in kissing his jaw.

"You just fell on a freezing river." She kissed him again and Gray pulled away before she could tempt him once more. "You are not in your right mind."

The Duchess shook her head lightly. "But Juvia liked kissing you this way." She purred.

"I… yeah, me too." There was no denying that he liked the way she kissed him – she could feel his want for her pushing on her stomach, throbbing and demanding attention – somehow that knowledge made her feel real good (the Duchess felt disappointed when he didn't look to her body earlier and would think about it when she could). "I know we are married, but you are not well enough to give your consent and this is a cave, we can't just consummate our marriage here, it's not the time or place. This is adrenalin rush." Gray tried to use reason even if his hormones were raging inside him.

"What's that?" She frowned.

"You almost died and our bodies are reacting to it." The man was taking calming breaths. "It was a trauma, you need to rest."

"Juvia _is_ feeling rather sleepy." The Duchess informed him.

"See?" Gray kissed her on the lips once again, feeling more at ease in her presence.

"But she'd rather be awake and kissing you." She whispered. "You make Juvia feel funny."

The Duke groaned. "Close your eyes and sleep. The guards will know something is wrong and they will come to find us. We can discuss this later."

"Alright." She agreed, her eyes fluttering close as she tucked her head on the place between his shoulder and neck. "Just promise Juvia that there will be more kisses like those? They were nice."

"Sure." The Duchess could feel him grinning even if she couldn't see it. "As you said, we are married."

**#**

Just as the Duke predicted, a couple of hours later, there was shouting coming from outside – which woke Gray up (he didn't even reminded falling asleep) –, he carefully untangled himself from the sleeping woman, covered her, grabbed his pants (he couldn't just appear in his underpants; he didn't care for it, but he was the Duke) and started to put them on while going outside to call for his guards. One of them found Gray and soon three more plus Loke appeared coming from the woods.

"Gray!" Loke got down from his horse when he saw the Duke. "We've been looking for hours for you and the Duchess." Noting the lack of a shirt, the orange haired man frowned. "What happened?"

"My wife fell on the river." The guards took a deep breath but Gray soon dismissed their concern, after all, only a few people could survive a situation like that. "She is fine, I managed to take her out, but she needs a doctor just in case. You." The Duke pointed to a young guard. "Go back to Avalanche Castle and tell the maids to warm water and prepare our room: light up the fireplace, put more blankets on the bed and whatever is that they do when someone could have hypothermia."

"Yes, sir!" The guard took off and Gray sighed.

"Could you take care of my wife's horse and prepare mine?" The Duke asked another guard and pointed to the horses – which were tied to a tree –, and the man nodded in agreement before following his orders. "I'll take her with me back home. Thanks." Gray stared at his friend. "I'll go wake her up and get ready."

"Do you need help with anything else?" Loke was concerned and stepped towards the cave when the Duke stepped in front of him.

"No." Gray said a little too quickly. "I mean, _no_, thank you. She's not… decent." The Duke turned around and left to the cave before the other man could say anything.

**#**

The Duchess was awoken by her husband's gentle voice calling her name and with a hand on her shoulder; he explained that there were guards outside and now that she was warmer, they could go home. She nodded and sat down while he grabbed her clothes, which were still wet, but it was what she got to wear.

Gray helped her up – the blanket firmly around her – and gave her clothes back and turned around while she put them on and he put his own shirt back. Juvia put her pants back without saying a word and right after, her shirt. When she was about to put her coat when she decided to ask something that bothered her earlier.

"Gray-sama?" The man hummed in response that he was listening. "Is Juvia's body not of your liking?" She decided to ask before they left and they time alone ended.

"What?" With the sudden question, the Duke turned to face her; his expression of confusion.

"You… didn't _look_." She felt her cheeks get warmer. Marge told her that she had to cover up really well because men would do pretty much anything to see a naked woman and there Gray was: not even a tiny look other than the necessary. "Juvia was naked and you didn't…"

"I…" Gray cleared his throat, his cheeks getting pinker – it was happening with a concerning frequency that day. "I was trying to warm you up, not… anything else."

The blunette nodded and finished putting her coat back on. "But would you look at it if it wasn't for…?"

"Okay, _why _are we talking about this?" Gray groaned in frustration.

"Answer Juvia." The Duchess put the blanket around herself and waited for an answer with her eyes focused on him.

"Fine." He took a deep breath. "I _did_ take a look, I liked it and that's – plus the fact that we were too close – was the reason we made out the way we did after we were under that blanket. That's your answer. Happy?" The Duke offered his hand to her. "Now can we go home?"

"Yes." Juvia gave him a smile and tried to put the blanket better positioned around her frame (her clothes were still humid so they were cold). "Is that what it was called? 'Make out'?"

"I am _not_ explaining it to you." Gray looked to the other way and then let go of her hand for a moment to put the cape he had put to dry around her. The man stepped in front of her to tie it properly and the Duchess kept staring at him.

"You promised there would be more of _that_, though."

"So I did." He leaned and the blunette thought he would kiss her again on the mouth, but was surprised to feel his lips on her cheek instead. After the kiss, he whispered to her – his hot breath on her ear sent shivers through her body. "And we will, but right now we need to go home."

"You are mean, Gray-sama." She pouted when he gave a step back, offered his hand once again and smirked at her reaction.

**#**

The ride back home was made without any further problems; Gray shared his horse with his wife (she sat behind him with her arms around his torso and buried her face on his back to warm it up) and as soon as they arrived in the Castle, he helped her down before the maids appeared. The Duke gave her a squeeze on the hand and told her to get inside and that he would be there as soon as he took care of a few things. Juvia nodded and offered him a shy smile.

"You…" Loke punched him friendly on the shoulder as soon as the maids took the Duchess inside in order to take care of her. "So? How was it?" Gray frowned, wondering how his Chief of Guard knew about what happened. "We found you without your shirt and the Duchess wasn't decent… It doesn't take a genius to do the math. Plus, you touched her more freely this time."

"I am your Duke, I don't need to answer this." Even with a straight face such as his at the moment, the black haired man still blushed.

"Not right now you are not the Duke." Loke chuckled. "Right now I am just your friend and you are mine. Now, come on."

"We didn't… go all the way." His cheeks became pinker. "But we are… _compatible_. Maybe too much."

"There's _no_ such thing as too much compatibility when it comes to _it_, Gray." The guardsman put his arm around the Duke's shoulders. "When a person gets married by convenience, they rarely get an unbelievable beautiful bride, and they certainly don't get a bride who would make out with them after falling into a freezing river… that's even before you two went the whole way, which means that once you properly consummate your marriage, I would expect the staff to find you in very compromising positions… Come on: she has to have a downside."

Gray thought for a moment. "Too eager?"

Loke groaned. "I _hate_ you, you lucky bastard."

**#**

**AN: It's** a month and a half after they got married… something needed to happen, right? Lol I hope this chapter was alright!

I know that the body heat thing was a cliché, but I couldn't help myself. Haha. Plus, I made Juvia be a little more forward here because… well, she is Juvia.

Thanks to: **Guest****, BookProf01, Kso12, ****XxlighterxX****, ****Hanazawa-Tsuki****, ****NudgeThePyro****, ****Nami2255****, ****P. FullbusterBelieve****, ****NollyLvn****, ****G.A. AnimeFan4****, ****hadjitoki, ****StrikerDaisy****, ****Topyra****, KatTaylor, ****intermin.9315****, ****Mrs Murasaki-sama****, ****TheGrammarQueen****, FeatherGuitar, ****DoomedToBeACrazyFanGirlForever****, ****hopelessroman****, ****Shimmer Lynn****, ****mimi317****, ****HaruVega****, The RedSin, Luud-chan, ****corderoc23****, Juvelia, mgaa, Medaka-chan, MusicLover212, Yukistar, Madness, PandaGirl, ****SakuraIchigoDark****, heather XD, bluebiker, Sarapyon, Guest, Peony-flower, YukiOnnaMonet, ****KHR1427, Guest, CapriciousKrego, ****16176, Rachy Writes, Lanvia, Penguin, Theejay-sama, otaku03, superduperizee, ****Essence97****, Mimi, ****TheLittleKittyMeows****, MrsGooglyBear, Sandyx5, Xeylah, CoolCat19698 **and** Chibi Waru-Chan**, who reviewed! Thank you to all the faves and follows too! I love you people!

01/26/2014 ~ **BonneyQ**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: **Sorry for the delay, but here we go!

**#**

**The Duchess**

Chapter 12

After the incident at the river and later at the cave, Juvia started to fall ill with a nasty flu and was bedridden for a week with fever, coughing and an occasional throwing up. The doctor said that it was a mix between the Duchess being from another land and not used to the cold plus the river incident really made the process go faster. Gray stood by her side whenever he wasn't dealing with the Duchy issues and it worried him how pale, shivering and hot she was, but after the first three days, she became much better and he could breathe again.

When the week was over and the doctor cleared her to get up from the bed, Gray still insisted that she rested, but she would venture around with a maid and Gajeel not too far behind when Gray would leave their bedroom. Once he was informed about Juvia's escapades, he went to find her and met her mid walk and confronted her.

"You need to rest! Go back to bed." He told his wife.

"Juvia is fine. Being bedridden will make her feel worse rather than better." The blunette sighed and when Gray tried to persuade her, she shook her head. "Please, Gray-sama. Just for a few moments so Juvia can stretch her legs; if she feels bad, Juvia will return to bed. Please."

He couldn't very well deny her when she had those big eyes turned at him. With a sigh, Gray nodded after a moment, but instead of walking away, the Duke shrugged off his coat and put it around her. "At least put the right clothing for roaming around the corridors." He scolded her gently. "Next time, please don't wander around only with your robe as cover; wear a warm coat at least, you are recovering."

Juvia smiled and put a hand on his cheek. "Juvia will; now would you like to walk with me for a little while?"

Gray nodded and offered her his arm, which she took gladly, and they walked around the floor for a few minutes before he convinced her to return to bed to rest and this time she agreed.

In one of her walks, Juvia found a room filled with old paintings people seemed to forget about and even if the room was dusty and most of them were covered and the Duchess had to cover her nose and mouth every time uncovering them and she sneezed a lot, but, it was nice to see her husband's predecessors and distant cousins, those which Gray never even heard about, but they sent their portraits either way so the Duke could remember them.

Gajeel would stay outside, saying that he didn't do too well with confined spaces with breakable goods around and Juvia agreed. Her maid, though, would stay by the door, covering her mouth and staring daggers at the Duchess, who should be resting, not going through hundreds of old paintings covered in dust.

During the third day she started looking over the paintings of great- great- great- great- great- great-grandfathers of her husband, she found a much smaller one – compared to the others – covered with paper. Curious, she grabbed it and tore the paper apart and what she saw made her breath get caught on her throat.

**#**

"You look much better tonight." Gray commented eyeing his wife when he exited the small bath chamber wearing his sleeping clothes and a robe. She was wearing her usual nightgown and sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling widely at her husband. The truth was that she had been feeling better for a while, those past few days were more of a way for her to get her strength back.

"Juvia has something for you." The Duchess got up from the bed and grabbed his hands, pulling him towards the place she was sitting before and even confused, Gray let her do it.

"What is it?" He asked, watching her go to the other side of the bed, kneeling to get something underneath it. "Juvia?"

"Here it is." His wife said, getting up holding a large package covered with a sheet and the Duke frowned when she gave it to him, but prevented him of uncovering it. "Juvia found this earlier this afternoon." The Duchess put a hand over his and squeezed tightly. "Juvia wanted to give you something like you gave her Honey and she had no idea what, but when she saw this… This is something that you should have, that you should see every day."

Juvia nodded and Gray uncovered the mysterious gift his wife offered him and once he could see what it was, he stilled. It was a painting – fifty centimeters of height – of a woman with long white hair and dark green eyes, a kind smile and a small dark haired child in her arms. There was a dark haired man with his arm around the woman's shoulder and he looked like an older version of Gray.

Those were his parents.

To recall about his father was easy, they looked so much alike that they could've been twins, but his mother… The Duke touched the painting of his mother's face with wonder and tenderness. In his mind, for a decade, all he remembered of her were glimpses of her eyes, her smile and sometimes he could remember her smell, and now he finally remembered it all again. "This is my mother." He whispered.

"Yes." His wife answered. "Juvia found it this afternoon. Sorry that you didn't find it before."

Gray shook his head. "It doesn't matter: you did." He finally looked up to his wife, his eyes strangely tingling. "I can remember now what they were like, especially my mother. I had forgotten…" He choked. "Thank you."

The Duchess touched his cheek tenderly. "You are welcome." She looked at the painting once again and he did the same, she rested her head on his shoulder. "She was beautiful."

"She was, wasn't she?" Gray asked with a smile. "The most beautiful woman I've ever-" He stilled and then looked down to his wife. "I mean…"

With a giggle, Juvia kissed his cheeks. "Juvia won't take it personally. She was your mother; you should think she is the most beautiful woman you ever saw." The Duchess sighed. "Juvia never met hers, she only saw paintings. I wanted to at least have one memory of her, or my father's."

Gray kissed the top of her head. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Juvia looked up to him. "It's late, maybe we should sleep."

The Duke nodded and got up from the bed and walked towards the window, kneeling and putting it carefully resting on the wall, taking a moment to look at his mother's face one more time. He smiled when he closed his eyes and he could remember her calling him to come home to eat his lunch with her and his father. He had always had that memory, but for the first time in years, he hadn't seen her face foggy.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia's voice brought him back from his thoughts and he got up from the floor. The Duke smiled at her and was about to go to his couch – with Juvia being sick, he'd let her have her space to get better – when she called for him again, making the man stop and turn to look at her. "The bed's big enough for both of us." The Duchess was kneeling on the bed, biting her lower lip and looking adorable.

"Juvia…" Gray sighed.

"We don't have to… _do_ anything." She blushed. "Juvia just wants to get used to you… here." The blunette looked to the bed and then back at her husband, who still hesitated.

"You are still recovering from…"

"Juvia is feeling a lot better." The woman said quickly. "Juvia understood why you didn't want to while she was sick – it was pretty disgusting – but… Juvia wants to feel close to you."

Gray looked towards his couch and back to the bed. Well, it wasn't too hard to choose. Without taking his eyes off her, the man took off his robe and stood by the side of the bed where Juvia was kneeling and leaned down so his lips could touch hers.

That kiss was different from the others they shared: it wasn't about saying 'thank you' for a gift, it wasn't about feeling excited. No, that kiss was tender, soft and caring. Gray had no idea how she did it, but she had weaseled her way into the tender part of his heart.

Once he unlocked their lips, he didn't move away. Their noses were touching, their breaths mingled. "Thank you. For everything."

"Don't be silly, Gray-sama." She chuckled, kissing him again. "Marriage is about making each other happy." Juvia reached for his hands. "Come to bed."

He nodded and did what was told and while she arrange herself on her side of the bed. He got underneath the sheets and wondered how they would do that: was he allowed to touch her? Would he need to watch himself while sleeping?

Gray got his answer when he felt her lie her head over his chest and put a leg over his and let out a contentment sigh and he decided to rest his hand on her waist.

"Is this alright?" Juvia asked quietly.

Gray smiled and turned to the bed stand to blow the candle that was lighting the room – aside from the fireplace – and then kissed her hair before mumbling: "Yeah. More than alright."

**#**

At the same time, on the other side of the Winter Duchy at Snow Storm Castle, a man was bringing a letter to his master. Even if it was late, his Lordship asked that any news from Avalanche Castle to be delivered to his chambers whichever hour it arrived.

"Sir?" His butler knocked on the door and waited a moment before opening the door of the main room. "Master Lyon?"

Said man was seated on a very comfortable red chair in front of the fireplace, a glass of bourbon in hands. His white shirt was opened and even if he should've been asleep on his bed, he still wore his leather pants and working boots.

"Yes?" The white haired man answered without taking his dark green eyes off of the fire. "What is it?"

"A letter." The butler muttered. "From Avalanche Castle."

That caught his Lordship's attention and he raised the hand not holding the glass of bourbon so he could get the letter and once he had it, the man opened it and carefully read the words.

"Well, well, well…" Lyon smirked. "It appears that my cousin has wedded. Carlton," Lyon called his butler, "inform the men that we will be going to see the Duke at Avalanche Castle. We leave in a day. I believe that I need to meet this bride."

**#**

**AN:** Oh, I love Lyon. I tried to make him as sexy as I could because he is one handsome fella, isn't he?

Thanks to: **Mrs Murasaki-sama, Mango, MrsGooglyBear, olej2k10, Stebbi, Medaka-chan, FeatherGuitar, StrikerDaisy, whatgoesupgoesdown, rosaji, xgasai-yunox, Shadow Mystery, superduperizee, mgaa, P. FullbusterBelieve, NollyLvn, otaku03, vivatitia, Yukistar, TheLittleKittyMeows, Sandyx5, 16176, Guest, emachookie, Guest, Pandagirl, maichan, Taimu-fantaisie, watashiwakana, otoku101, Raimy Fantaisie, Kathleen, Guest, Cowgirl50126, JuviasPOV, Guest **and **BelieveInYourself7**! You guys are amazing! I love every single one of you who supports the stories even when I take this long to update. Thank you very much!

06/07/2014 ~ **BonneyQ**


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